Instinct Driven
by Pakmai
Summary: Q is an Omega with a double life. At work, he's the confident, intelligent Q. At home, he's a lonely and lost. Q cannot let the agents see his weakness. Bond is an Alpha: confident, strong, capable. He sees hints of the real Q that trigger his protective instincts. Being 007 means he shouldn't commit himself to any Omega, but he can't stay away. Post-Skyfall. 00Q, Omegaverse.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my second attempt at Omegaverse, I hope this one will be a little different, but I haven't gone back and read my other one for a while, and I don't want to while I write this one, so hopefully it won't influence this. Oh well, we'll see. Normally I don't like repeating ideas, but this one rattled around in my head for days, so I figured I should let it out. :) Hope you all enjoy!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**

**And as always, I own nothing to do with James Bond, just playing in the sandbox. :)**

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"Yes, Mummy. I am settling in just fine, trying to unpack from the move to my new flat. Work is good. You know I can't talk about it. Yes, I'll call if I need anything. I have to go. I love you too." Q says before he hangs up the cellphone. Slowly, he looks around the flat that he just moved into, boxes sitting everywhere. The flat is a security measure, his old identity is gone, with his promotion. His life is pretty much Q and nothing else now. Shoulders slumping, the young man slides down to sit on the floor, overwhelmed and not sure where to start.

Ever since he was young he's been intelligent, and he knew that he could excel, but he was happy, for a while, being just a lackey in Q-branch, until the old Q tapped him to be the next R, grooming him. When he was born, the tests came back showing he was an Omega, and from then on his life was a little different than other kids. he was sent to special classes with other Omegas, giving them more information about what they are, how to handle situations, etc. And of course the all-important suppressants when they got old enough. Most of the Omega's were fine, but there was something different with Q.

Since he hit puberty, he feels like he's been useless. And he knows this happens sometimes to Omegas, the ones who have a greater need for an Alpha than some others. Q knows that he's brilliant, and he's dedicated himself to mental pursuits, since it became obvious at a young age that physically he was not going to be good at any sports or anything else really. Unfortunately, it's not easy for him to find an Alpha that is right. Most of them don't like his appearance. And then most of the others are not ones Q thinks he can deal with.

Once again the young man looks around at the boxes, feeling a swell of despair as he pulls his knees up to his chest. At work, he has to be strong, he has to be the leader, the Q that MI6 deserves. And so far he's pulled it off, but it's exhausting. Finally, though it takes supreme effort, Q pulls himself to his feet and starts to unpack the necessities from his boxes, kitchen items, bathroom items, and sheets and pillows for the bed. The rest of the boxes are pushed aside and after making sure the windows and door are locked, he crawls into his bed, curling up with the intention of just taking a little nap.

Unfortunately that does not go as planned and by the time he wakes up, it's the next morning and he's almost late for work as he hurries and gets ready, forgetting breakfast as he hurries to work. He'll just get himself some tea at work and that will have to hold him over until lunch, when he can get some food. Hopefully. That doesn't always work out, but Q doesn't have time to dwell over that right now. Besides, he knows he has 007 coming by to return his equipment. And he wants to make sure the troublesome agent - and very attractive Alpha - doesn't stay in Q-branch too long.

It's after lunch time before Bond slips into Q-branch, glancing around. It's not unusual for the double-ohs to be Alpha's, in fact to happens more often than not, and Bond is another fine example of the breed. He moves with an easy grace, - almost feline in his movements - very confident in himself and his body. Spotting his Quartermaster standing facing the large screen against one wall, Bond moves over and stands behind him and slightly to one side, waiting for his presence to be acknowledged. After being berated one day for interrupting Q's train of thought, he figures it would be best to wait this time. While suppressants prevent an Omega from going into heat, it doesn't get rid of their unique scent, so Bond can tell that Q is an Omega.

Given how the younger man has always acted, the agent assumes that he is claimed, that he has an Alpha of his own. He seems far too confident and disinterested around everyone else not to be. While Bond usually doesn't brag, he does usually get a bit more of a response from Omega's than he's gotten from Q.

"Put your equipment in the tray 007, I do hope it's in one piece." Q says firmly in his usual disinterested voice, sliding a small tray across the countertop, having been waiting for the agent to arrive. And he's trying desperately not to get distracted by him and his scent. Yes, ever since they met in the museum, he's been very aware of the older agent, but he knows that road will only end up with him in pain, so he pushes it away, not allowing such thoughts to cross his mind while he's at work.

"Don't worry, Q, my _equipment_ is in very good tack." Bond says in a suggestive tone before he places the ear piece, Walther, and a liberated USB drive on the tray. "Brought you a souvenir." He says as he steps closer to the desk and looks over at the younger man.

Sighing a little as he tries to ignore the flirty, suggestive tone in the older man's voice, Q glances over at Bond out of the corner of his eye, before he gives an intrigued glance down, reaching down to pull the tray back and then pick up the USB drive. "Well then." He breathes, sounding intrigued. "What have we here.." he says before he plugs it into his laptop, running a program he designed after Silva, to test foreign tech for any sort of virus, before he opens up the files, adjusting his glasses as he examines them.

Bond watches Q curiously but doesn't leave, standing casually with his hands into he pockets of his pants as he continues to observe the curious man. He just can't figure it out. The only way he has ever seen an Omega so confident or unaffected by an Alpha so near them is if they've already got an Alpha. But he's never been able to detect anyone else's scent on Q, not that he's ever gotten extremely close to the man, but it should be fairly obvious. So the lack of scent makes him think the boffin is unclaimed, but that seems at odds with everything else he knows. Deciding to press his luck a little bit, Bond takes a step closer, into Q's personal space a little in the pretense of peeking over his shoulder to see what might be on the USB drive. It hasn't been projected onto the big screen yet, and true, he could have approached from the side like any normal person, but then he wouldn't be able to take a deep breath and get a better sense of Q's scent. Which at the moment seems to be nothing more than soap, deodorant, and _him_.

At first, Q doesn't react to having the agent so close behind him, but after a moment, the hair on the back of his neck prickles, and he suddenly notices the proximity. Stiffening, he slips to the side and turns to face the agent. "What do you think you're doing, 007?" He demands, his face stern and body ridged, but one of his hands is trembling slightly before he tightens it into a fist, and there is fear and wariness lingering in his eyes.

A little surprised at the reaction, Bond tamps down on his initial response which is fierce protectiveness of this obviously vulnerable man. Instead he lets his body relax, hands in his pockets and he smirks slightly as he looks at Q. "Just trying to see what might be on that drive, Q. Anything interesting?" he asks casually, his whole demeanor nonchalant since he is trying to look as non-threatening as possible. A part of his mind is concerned about how jumpy Q is, however, and resolves to find out more about the man.

"I am sure that you can observe it from over there." Q says somewhat irritably, but seems relieved even as he points to a space to the side and back from him. "Nothing interesting yet, it will take me a little while to get through the encryptions and analyze the files." He says simply as he turns back to his computer and goes to working, trusting that the blond will keep a proper distance.

Slightly amused by the younger man but relaxed now that he seems to feel more comfortable, Bond watches Q for a few more moments after moving away slightly. "Good day, Q." Bond says after a few minutes before he turns and casually strolls out of Q-branch, winking slightly at the last girl on his way out, who blushes brightly and quickly goes back to her work.

Pausing outside to give one glance back at the slim figure standing before his computer, master of his own little universe, James considers where to go next, turning his head slightly before he strides with purpose toward the elevators, hitting a button for the top floor, and then tapping his foot impatiently as he rides. At least there's no one else in the elevator getting on and off and preventing his ascent. When he comes out, any trace of his impatience is gone as he walks into the office and smiles as he looks at the woman sitting behind it. "Moneypenny." He greets as he looks at her, then perches on the edge of her desk.

Glancing up at the agent suspiciously, Moneypenny smirks a little as she glances him over. "007. M hasn't called you up here, you've just come back from a mission. Is there something I can do for you?" She asks skeptically as she looks at him.

"Oh, this isn't about a mission. I was hoping I could take you out to dinner. There's something that I want to ask you.." Bond says smoothly with a small smirk. "Last I checked, even secretaries get lunch." he says as he leans toward her a little, sounding amused.

"Why, Bond... that sounds rather serious." Moneypenny replies but just looks amused as she looks at him. "But, never let it be said I turn down such an invitation." She says playfully, getting up gracefully and slipping her jacket on. "Your question sounds rather scandalous though."

Bond winks as he helps Moneypenny into her jacket. "No scandal." he says as he regards the Beta, well aware that she has the pulse of MI6, but is also immune to any extra charms being an Alpha may provide him with. "Just a question. Lunch, in exchange for the answer to one question. Anywhere you like." He says as he leads her back to the elevator.

"Must be an important question." Eve says as she looks at Bond for a moment, considering where she wants to go for lunch. It doesn't take them long for Eve to get to her favorite little cafe, at a somewhat private table in the corner. It's not until after the food is ordered that Moneypenny watches the man across from her carefully. "Alright, so what's this all-important question?" She asks curiously.

Taking a small drink of his coffee, Bond leans forward on the table for a moment, his face turning serious. "I need to know something very important. I know that all Alpha's are required to inform MI6 who their Omega is, and vice versa. I don't need a name. I just need to know if Q has an Alpha." He says simply as he looks at the woman across from him.

This question was not even on Eve's radar on the way over here, catching her completely off-guard as she stares at the agent for a few moments. "I can't tell you that, James." She says finally with a shake of her head. "Even if I knew, you know I couldn't tell you that." She says with a slightly scolding tone. "Why are you so intent on knowing, anyway?"

Letting out a frustrated growl, Bond narrows his eyes a little at Eve before he abruptly sits back scratching the back of his head. "I need to know." he says firmly as he looks at Eve. "If he does... he's not being taken care of properly." He's not sure what makes him think this, but he just knows that something is wrong. "And if he doesn't... Then we need to be careful. Make sure he's looking after himself until he gets one, and make sure that no one takes advantage of him." He says as he watches Eve carefully.

Seeming torn for a few moments, Eve takes a drink of her tea and then sighs. "No, he doesn't have an Alpha." She says after a few moments of debate with herself. "You really think that he's that bad off?" She asks worriedly as she looks at Bond, quite liking Q and getting along with him very well.

Considering everything that he knows or has seen lately, Bond nods a little. "Yes. I'm not sure he can properly take care of himself. It's a wonder that he's been alone this long. We should bring him back something to eat, he looked a bit pale when I saw him." he says thoughtfully, catching a waitress when she comes back around and ordering something to go.

Hiding her smile behind a cup, Eve watches the agent and his concern for their young boffin. "I'm sure he'll be fine, Bond." She reassures. "He's been alright this far." She says with a slight bit of amusement, before she holds her hands up in defense at the sharp look she gets from the agent. "But of course, we can keep an eye on him. Wouldn't hurt. He does tend to overwork himself." She says with a little smile.

The rest of the meal goes on quietly, filled with idle chit chat, though the agent is a little fidgety and feeling off-balance overall. Q does not have an Alpha, this information surprises him and brings otherwise carefully controlled instincts to the surface. He knows he is not the one for Q, he's away too often and his job is too dangerous. Not to mention it seems the young boffin is completely unaffected and disinterested when it comes to him. Either that or he's a much better actor than James gives him credit for. Still, when the lunch is over, he's more than eager to go back and see the younger man, taking the take away bag and heading back toward Q-branch. He will make sure his Quartermaster is looked after. Oh yes. That he will.


	2. Chapter 2

When Bond returns to Q-branch, there's a bit of a flurry of activity, some of the minions moving across the center aisle to the other side in order to share or spread information, bringing things back to their own desks after chatting a bit. And in the center of all this buzz is Q standing at his desk in the front, tapping away at his keyboard as he watches the satellite images, calm and collected as always, two screens having lines of code that are continuously moving displayed there.

"Yes. Right. Well, that's their mistake, then." Q says with some smug satisfaction in his tone. "Turn right in ten feet, there will be an electronically locked door which will be open in three.. two.. one.. there we are. Through the door is a control room, there will be a computer directly to your left. There should be an open USB port in which you can use to plug in the drive I provided you with the kit. After you've done that, a window will pop up on the screen, just hit the OK button and let it do its thing. On the opposite wall from that computer is a bank of servers. There should be a... yellow wire, left hanging unplugged, but near something that should be compatible. Be a good boy and plug that back in for me." He says in a bored, somewhat condescending tone, swaying a little but making it look like a natural shifting of his stance before he continues.

"Lovely. Right, I am connecting now... you can remove the USB drive, no need to leave our evidence there." Q says thoughtfully as he continues guiding the agent. "Back out you pop, the way you came should be clear. I'm going to hand you over to R now, 005. Q signing off." He says before he removes the headset from his ear, sighing in relief. "R, make sure that the download continues, and that the virus gets planted afterwards, everything is ready for you to upload. Just a click away." he says with a soft, almost tired smile before he stretches his arms above his head, then leans forward on his desk as he gets a little bit dizzy, shaking his head slowly for a moment.

Having stayed out of the way and inconspicuous as he can be while things were being taken care of, when Bond sees the younger man sway a little, he moves forward with the take away bag he brought for Q. He makes it to the Omega's side just as he starts to tilt sideways, catching him around his slim waist and pulling him upright. "Let me guess, you've not eaten today." he says in a disapproving tone as he keeps one arm around the other's waist to hold him upright and close to his side for a few moments longer. More than a few of the minions are staring at them in shock, since none of them would ever be bold enough to touch their Quartermaster.

Blinking slowly at the agent after he is righted, Q shakes his head slowly, and looks down a little, feeling a little ashamed to have to admit this. "No.. I didn't have time for breakfast before I had to be in.." he says in a guilty tone, before he realizes where they are, exactly, and he clears his throat, straightening a little to move away from Bond. "Luckily, now I have a bit of a break, and will be fixing that oversight." He says in a stronger tone, adjusting his glasses before he picks up his Scrabble mug to head toward the small room where they have put a kettle and a few other kitchenette necessities.

Bond smirks a little as he lets Q get away, following him toward the kitchenette. "Yes, you will." he says, placing the take away bag on the counter in front of him. "Eve and I decided you would probably be hungry." he says before he adds, "And I won't be leaving until I'm sure you're left alone long enough to eat it. You're far too skinny to be missing meals." he says as he looks Q over slowly.

For a few moments Q stares at the bag after putting the kettle on. "Oh. Thank you." he says before he sighs a little. "I don't need anyone to stand over me like I'm in some bloody prison." he says quietly, though inside he's thrilled to know that Bond cared, even just a little, about his welfare, that any Alpha has taken an interest in him. Quickly, he gets his tea together, avoiding looking at the blond as he does, but he picks up the bag with his tea as well to head back to his small office which appears to be very disorganized, folders piled up on both sides of his desk, and beside the desk as well. Moving a few of the folders from the table to the floor, Q finally sits down and starts to open the bag, blinking at the food inside since there is much more than he was expecting.

Not one to be put off that easily, Bond follows the younger man into his office, and he closes the door behind him, a clear sign to anyone else that the Quartermaster is to be left alone. "Too busy for administrative work, are you?" he asks curiously as he looks at the younger man, moving some files so that he can sit down in one of the chairs.

"I have no filing cabinets yet, and I have been rather busy for the last few months." Q says a little defensively as he looks down at his desk for a moment, opening the food and starting to eat slowly, trying not to scarf anything down, especially since Bond is watching him. "If certain double-ohs would stop getting themselves in trouble, perhaps I would have a little more time." He says as he looks up at Bond pointedly, adjusting his glasses again before he goes back to eating, pulling one leg up under the other on his chair, allowing himself to relax a little.

Not taking his eyes off the young Omega, Bond crosses his legs and sits back in his chair. "I see. Well, we wouldn't be doing very well without our Quartermaster, would we?" he asks as he watches Q. "I suppose that is worth a little unfinished paperwork." he notes thoughtfully as he looks around at the piles of folders. "You seem to enjoy your position."

Looking up at the agent suspiciously, Q nods slowly. "I do." he says simply, then adds, "I knew most everyone in the department before, so it was an easy transition in that sense. However, apparently a few of you double-ohs have issues taking orders from someone who is a little bit younger than you. Though I don't know why, I'm only a few years younger than the youngest of you." He points out, a little frustrated. "Of course, several of them also take exception to the fact that I'm an Omega. The kind of sexism that I thought was long gone. Seems a lot of you double-ohs are somewhat old fashions. I suppose it goes against your instincts to take orders from an Omega." He says with a slightly annoyed tone.

"A little." James says with a nod of his head. "If you recall, I wasn't wild about taking orders from someone as young as you, either. That is, until I learned how bloody brilliant you are. If a bit arrogant." He says as he continues to watch Q. "But that's not all there is to you.. there's more, and I want to know what it is." he says honestly as he looks at the other man, wanting to get him away from here and away from work, see if that makes any difference. He wants to see where the brunette lives, to see that he's taking care of himself, finding himself very worried about the younger man. "You'll prove yourself to the double-ohs. Don't let them rattle you." he reassures gently.

Q looks up at Bond, staring for a moment before he finishes off his meal and sips at his tea, sitting back in his chair and pulling his second leg up onto the chair with him, curling up in it a bit. "Oh, I won't. Just bloody annoying." He says before sighing and running a hand through his hair, closing his eyes for a few moments as the stresses of the day already are catching up to him. After a moment though, he takes a sharp breath and opens his eyes quickly, as if afraid that he might have fallen asleep. "Thank you for the food, 007." he says quietly, stretching his arms out in front of him and dumping the empty take away containers in the trash. "However, I am sure you have Medical to report to, and as you can see, I have more than enough to keep me occupied." He says as he motions to the folders in front of him.

Reluctant to leave Q just yet, but feeling better now that he's seen him have a proper meal, James nods a little and smirks. "Well then. You've seen through my rouse. I can no longer escape the dreaded medical exams." he says before he stands smoothly, buttoning the front of his jacket casually. "Until later, Q." he says before he turns and opens the door, closing it halfway to give the younger man a little more privacy. Nodding to R on his way out with a slightly amused smile, the double-oh starts making plans to make sure Q is looked after. If he were in a different job he might even consider trying to court him to an extent, but he knows that's not possible or practical given his job. Or at least that's what he convinces himself.

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**Oh, these two. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, there is plenty more to come, I hope to make this sort of a longer story but I don't know. I'm more of a play-by-ear type person, which, if you've ready anything else of mine I'm sure you know. :) Thanks for your interest so far!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome! (and encouraged :) )**


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Bond is out of the room, Q lets out a relieved sigh, taking one last deep breath of the attractive Alpha's scent. Well that was something new, he muses as he enjoys the last of his tea. He can't recall Bond ever bringing anyone lunch, much less himself. It's almost like he was being taken care of, which left him feeling, for lack of a better phrase, sort of warm and fuzzy inside. Any of the double-ohs taking a genuine interest in his welfare and not just wanting a quick shag is unlikely, the young man tells himself. With their lifestyle, they see permenant attachments as a liability, something to worry about. Because if anyone ever dug deep enough to find out about their siginificant other, there would be a fleet of their enemies trying to get to their loved one in order to get to the double-oh. Of course, most of them enjoy this freedom, and none as much as 007. His womanizing ways are practically legendary at MI6.

Unsure of how long he was sitting at his desk and daydreaming about a certain double-oh, Q gets himself up and stretches, sorting through the more important pile of folders on his desk which are requistions and the like. Bringing out the pile finally to Q-branch, he finds it working like the well-oiled machine it is and he smiles a little as he brings the pile over to R. "Could you please see that these get back to their proper departments, R? I've reviewed them, and attached notes where I felt necessary. If there are any questions or disputes, the department heads can speak to me." He says confidently, feeling much better about himself at the moment, and better in general now that he's got some food in his stomach.

Turning toward the screens he has set up, Q looks them over to see what's happening before he slips his headset back on. "Alright, what have we going on now?" He asks as he starts to get back to work, standing at his desk, helping the minions with their projects when needed, helping agents when called and working on his own projects to increase the security of MI6 and make the double-ohs that much more effective.

When people start to get up and leave at the end of the day, Q hardly notices, still working and in the middle of guiding one of his agents through an empty building to avoid the guards and hopefully rescue a hostage. That's the plan at least. Luckily that particular plan goes off without a hitch, making Q stretch a little after the agent and hostage are safe and sound. Only then does he glance around the room, a little surprised to see that the night shift has come in without him noticing. There's still a great deal of work to do though, so he merely goes to get himself a cup of tea from the small makeshift break room. When he returns, it's to find a certain agent perched on the desk of one of the young women who works the night shift, Marjorie if Q is recalling it correctly.

A small frown creases Q's face as he sees how easily the agent talks to and flirts with the girl, causing him to sound a little more irritable as he says, "Is there something that we can do for you, Bond? I haven't heard anything about you going on a mission, especially since you just returned." He takes a drink of his tea, decidedly not looking at the older man as he returns to his desk and looks up at the screen.

Surprised at the icy tone of voice, Bond looks up, glancing over the brunette's form and then glancing at Marjorie with a smirk. Slowly sliding to his feet, he stalks over to the front desk, standing close to his side yet not touching, casually looking up at the screen. "Thought you might still be here." He says as he glances sideways at Q's profile. "You need to go home, Q. You're wearing yourself out and the last thing we need is for you to get sick." He points out logically, putting his hands in his pockets casually as he looks back up at the screen.

"I assure you, 007, I am perfectly healthy," Q says in a distracted tone as he tries to figure out a bit of code that's scrolling past on the screen, finally starting to type as he understands where the glitch is. "I'll have you know that I have an excellent constitution and I very rarely get sick." While he talks, his fingers continue to move over the keyboard, once again displaying how efficiently he can multitask.

A small chuckle comes from Bond as he glances down at the table for a moment, then shifts his body so that it's facing the omega's a little more. "Oh? Well you should be doing what you can to ensure it, instead of inviting disaster." he says firmly, before he leans a little closer so that Q can feel a wall of heat along his side from Bond's body.

While he doesn't react, goosebumps flow up along Q's neck to his hairline before they fade a few moments later, when the agent leans closer to him. Clearing his throat for a moment, he tries to stay strong, adjusting his glasses and glancing sideways at Bond. "I'd hardly consider it pushing too far, it's not as if it's after midnight, it's not even 7 o'clock yet." He says as he continues to type. "I have work to finish here, surely you haven't yet forgotten the piles of folders in my office."

"It can wait." Bond says simply, waiting until Q pauses for a moment before he takes Q by the arm. "You're going home. So bloody stubborn. Your people are trained to take care of everything and if not, I am more than sure they will call you." He says as he pushes the younger man away from his desk - but not before he hastily saves everything - and over toward his office. "Get your jacket. I'll take you home, I'm not going to let you ride the bloody Tube this late at night." he says as he gives Q a light push into his office, then stands in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

Trying to object but unable to keep himself from being pushed into his office, Q huffs once inside, pushing his glasses back up again. "Perhaps you're used to getting your way in all things, Bond, but you are not my boss, my Alpha, or anyone who is qualified to be giving me any orders." He says firmly as he looks at Q, though he quite likes this side of Bond. One thing does have the ring of truth to it however, Bond is not HIS Alpha, which only sort of saddens him and yet firms his resolve to not let himself be pushed around by ANY of the double-ohs.

Seeing that perhaps force is not the right way to get the young man to do what he wants, Bond decides to take another tack, and he sighs a little, letting his arms fall to his side. Looking down for a moment, he lets his shoulders drop in apparent defeat and he nods a little. "You're right, Q. I'm not, though I'll be buggered if I don't want to be. You and I both know that wouldn't end well. I just want to make sure you're alright, Q. It's instinct. Surely you must be able to appreciate that." The agent says as he takes a slow step toward the younger man, reaching out slowly and putting a hand on his upper arm to rub it slowly from shoulder to elbow. "Humor me, Q. Let me drive you home, make sure that you're alright, and settle my own overprotective instincts. I'm sure some of this you can do from your flat if you really need to." he says as he glances around at everything, still rubbing Q's arm gently for a few moments before he slowly lets his hand slide away.

Q relaxes under the gentle, soothing touch on his arm, and the tension flows out of him for a few moments as he listens to the seemingly very concerned tones. Deciding that yes, he can do some work from home, and no, it wouldn't be so bad to give into Bond just this once, while hoping that it doesn't set an awful precedence, Q nods. "Well. Alright, then. But don't think you'll be able to get away from being so pushy with me all the time, Bond." he says firmly as he moves away to gather things into his bag, trying to ignore what Bond said about wanting to be his Alpha, assuming that he's just being manipulated.

After gathering his things together, and giving Bond a wary look, Q steps out into the main area, keeping his composure. It seems his employees have the good grace not to think or say anything about their boss getting dragged off by one of the most infamous of double-ohs. That at least is comforting to him as he steps to his desk to lock out a few things.

The young man that heads the department while Q is away since R has this night off, comes over and he smiles a little, glancing uncertainly at Bond. "We'll keep it running for you, Q." He reassures, holding his hand out for the reports and information that Q is holding in his hands. "Have a good evening, sir. We'll see you in the morning." He says respectfully, before he turns to head back to his desk and look through the information he was just given.

"Yes. Well. Goodnight, then." Q says after reluctantly handing over the reports, sighing a little as he looks over at Bond. Hitching his messenger bag onto his shoulder, he walks toward the door. "I presume you are going to insist on driving me yourself rather than just just seeing me to a car." He says with an exasperated tone to his voice as he walks down the hall toward the elevators. "I really do prefer my privacy, Bond. I've just moved into a new flat as part of my promotion, and I doubt very much that even MI6 wants many people to know where I live."

Leaning over to press the call button before Q has a chance to, Bond smiles softly and then nods. "I'm sure." He says, looking at the top of the elevator. "And yes, I'll be driving you back to your flat. It's the only way I know you'll get there, is to see it with my own eyes." he says firmly, turning his ice blue eyes to meet the green that are continually hiding behind glasses.

Feeling himself blushing just a little, Q tears his eyes away from Bond and glances down at his bag under the pretense of making sure that he has everything with him, patting the pockets of his jacket to make sure he has his keys. "Paranoid, with trust issues. I'm seeing that now." He says with a small nod of his head as he recalls what he read in the agent's file. He decided not long after he took the post that he needed to know each agent's strength and weakness. Though he'll never be as good as the former M in that department, at least he has a little bit of an idea of how to deal with each of the double-ohs that come through his office. It also tells him which he handles differently because of them being Alpha's, and which he can treat as he treats most of his staff.

The evaluation doesn't even make Bond twitch a little though, other than glancing over at Q for a moment with what could possibly be amusement but it's hard to tell because of how stoic he's being in general. When the elevator opens, he waits for Q to go in first and then hits the button for the garage, lapsing into silence. Naturally when they reach the garage the car that Bond starts walking toward is another Aston Martin, his car of choice in a sleek silver color.

"You do like your cars." Q mumbles mostly to himself as he waits for his car to be unlocked before he slips into the leather seats, taking a deep breath of the new leather, plastic, and _Bond_. It's a heady combination and a relaxing one as well. Getting his seatbelt on, the brunette relaxes back into his seat and tilts his head back to rest on the headrest. "It is a rather lovely car." He finally admits after looking around the interior for a few moments.

After settling into his own seat and starting the car, James looks over at Q and smirks a little. "Yes, I'm rather fond of them." He says quietly, taking a deep breath as well, finding it a little bit distracting to be in such close quarters with someone he finds so desireable who is an Omega to boot. But he is nothing if not good at controlling his impulses, smoothly pulling out of his parking space. "You're going to have to tell me where we're going." He points out as he glances over at Q.

Glancing around for a moment, Q tells Bond which direction to go, pulling up the directions on his phone which he at least knows is secure. "I don't believe I've ever had to drive this route. I'm either driven or I take the Tube." he notes thoughtfully as he continues to give the agent directions in the same tone he would be familiar with from missions.

Unerringly following the directions given to him by Q is something that Bond has become quite accustomed to, as is weaving in and out of traffic at a moment's notice if the boffin isn't quite sure or isn't paying attention completely. Luckily the traffic in London has thinned out now that it's past rush hour, and night has fallen. Most people are at home. "Do we need to stop for anything to eat on the way? You did say you just moved, and if I recall, you haven't really taken a day off since Silva." he says with a slight tensing as he mentions the name of the former agent.

"Hm? Oh. I have leftovers from take away yesterday which should be fine." Q says with a small wave of his hand and a tone that implies this is not an unusual set of circumstances for him. He's staring out the side window so he doesn't notice the frown on Bond's face or the way he grips the steering wheel just a little bit harder. "I'm hoping to take a day off after a few of the double-ohs come back from their current missions, assuming that no one has an emergency." he says in a distracted tone as he stares into the window of a restaurant where the tables are filled with two or three people, some families, some couples obviously on a romantic date. One of the tables even has a woman that appears to be in her 20's sitting with a younger man, 16 or 17, who is blushing. But what strikes Q the most about this scene is the choker that the young man has on, the type that is given to young Omegas who have already chosen their Alpha - whether through a mating pull or true choice - but the age gap is one that would otherwise make the relationship frowned upon at best, illegal at worst.

Although considered an archaic tradition now, it was once a common practice for Omegas to wear chokers like that - male and female - which had the family crest or some identifying symbol on it for their Alpha. In case the Omega got into any sort of trouble, the idea was that the authorities would know where to go even if the Omega refused to talk. Without realizing it, Q rubs back and forth along his neck near the base, his mind drifting to everything he learned about when they initially explained the differences between Alpha, Omega and Beta to his class in school. Of course now such chokers were only used to avoid legal battles, especially since Alpha's can be quite aggressive if anyone tries to harm their Omega.

"Q?" Bond prompts, puncturing the fog. "Are you alright?" he asks, reaching over and touching his knee with three fingers gently to bring him back to the present.

So deep was he in his daydream, that Q is startled when Bond touches him, feeling a something akin to an electric shock go through him as he takes a sharp breath through his nose and looks over at Bond. "Yes?" He asks, then clears his throat. "Right. Um.. two blocks, take a right." he says as he glances down at his phone, shaking his head for a few moments to clear it of the ridiculous images his mind had conjured. "It appears I may be a little more tired than I previously thought." he says as he looks over at Bond, brushing the older man's hand away from his knee, the touch of their skin sending another electric shock up his arm, causing a small shudder to run through him.

While Bond feels that instant connection as well, he doesn't make any indication of it, just catching Q's hand in his for a moment and gives it a squeeze. "There's no shame in admitting that, Q." He says, though of course he is the worst when it comes to admitting he might need rest or something. His shoulder still isn't up to scratch but he's working to get it stronger and to the point he needs it to be. It might never be the way it was but it will at least be useful. After the brief touch, he releases Q's hand to make the right hand turn, looking around warily for a few moments. "Nice neighborhood." he muses, figuring that this is the area that Q lives in.

"Mm. My flat is just up three blocks, first building on the right." Q says, still a bit distracted, rubbing his hand against his leg for a moment before he looks back out the window.

Deciding to take advantage of this situation, James smiles slightly before he pulls up in front of a small shop two blocks from Q's house. "Stay here a moment." He says, leaving the car running before he gets out and goes in. He's not gone for too long but he comes out with several bags worth of things, putting them at Q's feet. "There, now you'll have something proper to eat. It's just basics, bread, some vegetables, fruit, pasta, but it's things that should be rather quick to make." He explains before he pulls back out into traffic.

As he stares down at the bags at his feet, Q blinks slowly, trying to comprehend what just happened. Bond had gone into a shop to get him food. Groceries, no less. He has no idea what the boffin likes or dislikes, but he got a variety of things just in case. Ultimately, he didn't care if some of it went to waste because Q didn't like it, he just wanted to get food to make sure that he was taking care of himself. That is very un-Bond-like, he muses to himself, looking at the agent suspiciously.

And while James would like to walk Q to his door just to make sure that he gets there ok, he thinks he probably overstepped enough bounds for today, so when he pulls up, he puts the car in park before he looks over at Q. "Goodnight, Q. Try to get some rest. I'll talk to the carpool, make sure someone is here to pick you up in the morning." This doesn't seem to be any choice, but even Q has to admit it would be nice not to fight with the crowds in the Tube first thing in the morning. "And eat something. You're too bloody skinny, and we can't afford to have you pass out in the middle of a mission." he says with a slightly disapproving frown.

"Right. Well, then. Thank you, Bond." Q says in as formal a tone as he can manage, hesitating as he stares at the agent for a moment, then he nods, gathering the bags. "Goodnight." He says with finality before he gets out of the car and pulls out his keys, balancing the bags in one hand as he punches in his key code for the front door. He even congratulates himself as he makes it inside without looking back, knowing that the blond is still watching him but he refuses to give him any satisfaction on that front.

Getting into his apartment is a little tricky with the bags but Q finally makes it, locking the doors behind him and staring in despair at the boxes of everything still stacked around. His bags make it to the counter before he goes to look out the window, seeing the Aston Martin just pulling away which means the infamous 007 waited to make sure that he got up alright before pulling away. That warm, fuzzy feeling settles inside Q again and he smiles as he goes to unpack the bags, surprised at the amount of food fit in them, before he finally unpacks the rest of his kitchen supplies so that he can make himself a proper dinner, and then he resolves to take a hot shower, perhaps do a bit of coding to relax or watch some tellie before bed.

Caring for him, looking after Q the way that James did, it's a very Alpha thing to do, but it still confuses Q. He's never acted like this toward anyone else, that much is obvious because those types of rumors would be all over the office. So what was making him act that way? It was quite vexing and bothered Q all the way through his dinner preparations until he decided to just push it out of his mind as a fluke and ignore it. Tomorrow was a new day, and hopefully one with a little less Bond in it.

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**Confusion! Wonderful, angsty confusion. Love these two. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few days there is a pattern that seems to develop and one that Q could get dangerously used to. He has managed to start getting up early enough in the morning to at least grab some toast or a bagel to eat along with his first cup of tea. The way he works and zones in on things however tends to mean that a lot of times he doesn't realize when lunch time is coming. That is, until a certain double-oh shows up with food. Apparently Bond has taken it upon himself to make sure that Q at least has one meal a day. And the one day that Q has a meeting, he finds the food on his desk. Even R is starting to be rather amused by the entire situation, while her boss merely finds it embarrassing, flattering, and a little annoying.

Today however, it's not Bond that shows up at Q's office for lunch, it's a certain secretary who has been a good friend to him so far. Eve smiles a little as she steps up and holds up a white bag. "I need to have a word with you, Q, I thought we might have a lunch meeting, gave me a good excuse to get out of the office for a bit." She says with a small smile, watching him expectantly.

When she puts it like that, Q knows that while it may all be a ruse to get him to eat something, since he once again forgot, he knows that there's more to it, so he nods a little, saving what he was doing and handing things off to R before he follows Moneypenny into his office. "Sorry about the mess. I'll get it organized one of these days." He mumbles as he moves some folders around and pulls a chair over to the edge of the desk for Eve, making a space they can eat at.

"We're all making adjustments, Q. What with moving back to the main building and all." Eve says with a sympathetic smile, pulling out a pasta dish for Q and a container of soup for herself. "With all the hubbub, I was wondering if you realized the month?" She asks s she looks at him skeptically.

Opening up the dish and taking out his little plastic fork, Q looks up at Moneypenny. "You came down here in order to ask me if I realized what month it was?" He asks suspiciously before he glances at the calendar. "I do have a calendar, I realize that it's Apr-" He pauses, doing a double-take as he looks at a note he has on the calendar. "Bloody hell." he mutters, rarely swearing except when the situation calls for it and it definitely calls for it. In a moment his shock turns to annoyance though. "I didn't realize it was so soon. MI6 really does have a ridiculous policy on this, suppressors take care of all that." He says as he waves his hand at the calendar.

Patiently, Eve smiles a little as she watches him. "Yes, but you know as well as I do that there can be complications, hormonal changes, or something the suppressors don't cover you 100%. MI6 would rather its employees - especially one as valuable as you - be safe rather than risk physical and psychological damage from a rape, or worse, a forced mating." She points out, stabbing her spoon in Q's direction to make her point before she goes back to eating slowly.

Q grumbles a little. "Maybe I can finally get caught up on all this bloody paperwork.. I suppose I can log in from home. No one says I can't work, just that I can't be in the office." He is quick to point out the technicalities of the forced leave, eating a little bit more. "Seeing as I have no need or desire to take this time off from work except that MI6 is forcing me to." He points out as he watches Eve, poking his pasta with his fork before he goes back to eating.

"No desire, huh?" Eve asks with a smirk of amusement. "Not even if a certain double-oh we are acquainted with wanted to stop by, just to check on you of course." She says innocently enough, though she watches the young boffin with hawk-like intensity.

With the tips of his ears turning pink and a slight blush on his face, Q can hardly deny that he might like having Bond stopping by, especially during this time of the year. "You know that would be cruel, Eve. For both of us. You're not to tell him why I'm not here. Tell him I went on vacation or something. I'll only be gone for a week, you cannot tell him." He says in a firm tone as he looks at Eve. "Promise me, Eve. I'm sure it's against MI6 policy to share such things with others, but I know how you like to meddle."

Rolling her eyes a little, Eve sighs as she looks back at Q. "I promise, Q, I won't tell him anything. Though you realize that me not telling him will drive him crazy. He's an Alpha, Q, and he's quite interested in you, an Omega. He may not allow himself to think of you as a potential mate, but that doesn't mean his instincts are listening." She warns as she looks at Q. "Suddenly not knowing where you are is not going to be good. No matter how much we warn him, his instincts won't let up until he knows where you are and that you're ok. A part of him considers you as his to protect, Q." She says quietly, finishing her soup and throwing away the container before she sits forward to look into the young man's vivid green eyes. "Just be careful, alright?" She asks in a gentle tone.

Staring quietly during Eve's little speech, Q can't help but scoff a little, "I think you're reading too far into this, Eve." He says before he sighs a little. "I am sure that Bond is used to controlling his instincts, he wouldn't be a very good agent if he wasn't." He says before he shrugs and finishes off his food as well, avoiding Eve's eyes. A part of him is feeling very self-conscious at the moment, wondering if she could be telling the truth and what it might mean if she is. "He brings me lunch because we're colleagues. I think he gets bored and it gives him an opportunity to have some intelligent conversation. If there were any more interest than that, I have a feeling 007 would sever our contact immediately." He says before he sighs a little and looks back at his tea, pulling his legs up into the chair seat with him, curling up comfortably. He's surprisingly limber for someone his size and someone who is a bit lanky in reality. "I'm always careful, Ms. Moneypenny. It's part of my job description." He says before he adjusts his glasses and takes a deep breath. "Thank you for lunch and for the advice, though I don't think I'll be needing it." He says decisively with a small nod of his head. "Now, if you don't mind, I really do have a great deal of work to do. Some of which I must finish this afternoon."

"This is going to be a bit of a train wreck, isn't it?" Eve muses thoughtfully before she shakes her head and smiles as she gets up. "Yes, thank you for lunch, Q, and your company. Don't work too hard. I'll let M know of your requested leave of absence, and that you will be working from home during that time." She says a little more formally but there's an amused smile on her face, and she gives him a little wave before she steps out, smiling at R for a moment before she heads back to her desk.

It takes a few more hours but apparently Bond can't keep himself away for an entire day, because he wanders into Q-branch near the end of the day, looking around for a few moments at some of the minions packing up to head home. Casually, he walks up behind Q, standing slightly off to the side and about a step back. "Staying late again, Q?" He asks casually after a few minutes of standing and watching the man sway back and forth a bit unconsciously as his eyes move from screen to screen, following the flow of his own mind.

"I'd hardly call it late. There are a few that are leaving a bit early, seeing as it's Friday night. Most of the double-ohs are on domestic soil for once, and the rest require minimal supervision so I saw no need to deny them." Q says casually as he continues to stare at the screens, refusing to look at the agent, though he has been thinking about what Eve says. With his hands pausing on the keyboard in front of him, the brunette finally glances over at Bond for a moment before he looks back at his screens. "Oh. It seems as if you'll have to find someone else to have lunches with next week. You were right, perhaps I have been working too hard and I really must get my flat in order, I haven't had time to unpack anything but the necessities." He says casually, though that's not entirely true. He's had time, he just hasn't felt like doing anything when at home except eating. There's nothing for him at home, no purpose, nothing but loneliness. His fingers pause a moment after that thought, and he quickly pushes it away, hoping the double-oh next to him will be too distracted to notice.

Stiffening a little, James looks over at Q, rather surprised and a part of him denying the idea that Q could be anywhere but where he is, and definitely not out of his sight for a week. "A week is a rather long time. It's coming a bit out of the blue." He says thoughtfully as he looks over at Q. "Do you perhaps have some family matters to attend to, Q?" He asks, trying to be playful but more curious than anything.

Q chuckles softly as he glances over at Bond for a moment, before he shakes his head. "Not a terribly long time. R will be properly briefed, I'll be available from home if anything comes up." He says casually, closing out some of the screens. "As you well know, Bond, I gave up any family when I took this promotion. Like you, I cannot afford for anyone to find out if I had family. If they could find out my true identity, then any family would be in danger. So when I took this promotion, I scrubbed that man from every record. I cannot control people who might recognize me, but that much I can do." He gives a definitive nod of his head before he takes a deep breath. "So no, no family obligations."

"Sometimes, Q, I wonder if you are cold or merely efficient. You're so good at your job it seems scary sometimes." James says thoughtfully before he leans closer to Q without shifting his feet. "If not family, perhaps you're planning to do some damage in your pajamas?" He asks, glancing the younger man over slowly.

A small snort is given as Q remembers their first meeting in the National Gallery, making him smile a little. "Yes, well. Not much opportunity for such things in this job. I'm afraid pajamas are not up to MI6 dress code." He says before he adjusts his glasses a little again. "And I have a feeling that instituting a 'pajama day' could get us into all sorts of trouble. Some people have pajamas that would be rather inappropriate for work. The sort I'm sure that you're rather fond of." He can't help but smile a little as he turns his head and looks over at the agent, even as a slight stab of jealousy goes through him as he remembers the older man's last liaison. His playful spirit dampened, Q turns his attention back to finishing up the task at hand.

A soft, deep chuckle that somehow manages to be suggestive, comes from Bond as he looks at Q with slightly lidded eyes. "Oh, you have no idea what I'm fond of, Q." He says with a little bit of a smirk, watching the younger man's ear pinken, no matter his stoic appearance. Sometimes you can't control everything and your body betrays you.

Q clears his throat a little, glancing over at Bond. "Why are you here, Bond? Merely to relieve your boredom?" He asks, trying to quickly change subjects before they get into uncomfortable territory. Uncomfortable for him at least, he's pretty sure nothing makes Bond uncomfortable.

"I had a sneaking suspicion that you might try to stay here late again." Bond says simply, then adds, "There's a car waiting for you. Don't make me escort you out." There's a small smile on his face as he regards the younger man for a few moments, before turning his body to face him a little more squarely.

Sighing a little, Q shakes his head. "I was about finished anyway. You're getting to be a bloody nuisance, Bond. Don't they have a new mission for you yet?" he asks, though he finishes up what he was doing and goes to grab his bag and jacket from his office. "I didn't realize you would be so unmanageable without a mission." he grumbles quietly.

With raised eyebrows, James watches Q move around and he laughs softly. "Unmanageable? Are you trying to manage me, Q?" He asks, moving closer and crowding into his personal space a little bit. "I think it's you who is unmanageable." he says thoughtfully as he watches Q for a few moments before stepping back. "Will I see you tomorrow or will you start your vacation now?" he asks curiously.

Blinking rapidly for a moment as Q recovers, he finally gets his mind back in working order and he nods quietly. "Yes, I'll be here tomorrow, I'm going to start my leave on Sunday." He says softly, slipping up and calling it 'leave', which he realizes might imply something more medical related or something, if the double-oh is quick enough to pick up on it, which Q is certainly hoping he is not. Deciding to retreat before any further questions or conversation can happen, he brushes his hair back a bit. "Goodnight, Bond." he says before he quickly slips by the Alpha and exits Q-branch, relieved when the agent doesn't follow him, yet slightly panicked at the idea that Bond might pick up that this is more than a mere vacation.

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**Oh, Bond. Always meddling. Hope you guys enjoy this!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

By the next evening however, Bond is nearly worked into a frenzy, working out hard for hours to try and get his mind off his Quartermaster, and why he might be taking leave. Why did he suddenly use that word? He's never known the man to slip up and say something unintentionally, or misuse a word. After taking a shower and dressing again, the agent makes his way toward Q-branch, happy when he sees the younger man walking the hall. Nothing in his hands so he probably is on his way back from delivering something.

Catching up to his Quartermaster, Bond grabs him by the arm and pulls him into a supply closet, shoving him back against the wall and putting his hands on either side of the surprised man's head, palms flat against the wall. "Why?" he demands, before he realizes he should clarify. "Why are you taking time off so suddenly?"

The yelp of surprise and fear that comes from Q can hardly be avoided as he's grabbed and yanked into the closet, eyes wide with fear, heart pounding and breathing quickly as adrenaline pumps through his body. The man in front of him is no longer just an agent, or a man, he's a worked up Alpha. That means that the brunette needs to tread lightly. So he listens to the question carefully and tries to figure out what response would get him to calm down.

"Bond." Q says slowly, taking a slow, deep breath, hands flat against the wall on either side of him to hide their shaking. "It's a personal matter." he says slowly. "You are not my Alpha. I thought perhaps you might be my friend. I do not need to report to you my every action." He says slowly as he watches the agent in front of him carefully.

Nearly growling in frustration, Bond slams one hand against the wall, making the younger man jump but he doesn't notice. "It has been driving me crazy, all day. A holiday, I understand. You've been through a lot in the last few months and taking some time off is not unexpected perhaps. But it's sudden, and then you said you were going on 'leave'. Not on vacation, not on holiday. 'Leave' is used to describe a medical condition, something a little more complicated and dire than needing some time off. So what is it, Q? Just tell me what it is. Put me out of my bloody misery, because I can't think of anything else today." He says in a harsh tone, louder than his normally calm manner.

Wincing a little, Q takes another deep breath as he looks at Bond, starting to get more than a little nervous right at the moment. Because he knows this situation is delicate, and that outside this supply closet, he may be in charge, he may be the Quartermaster. But right here, right now, he is nothing more than an Omega who has frustrated a strong Alpha. And at the moment he's a little nervous about that. "I'm not injured or dying or anything like that, Bond." He says in a calm tone which he tries to make sure is gentle. Tentatively, he removes one hand from where he had it pressed against the concrete at his back, adjusting his glasses and watching his hand tremble as he reaches out and rests it on Bond's shoulder gently. "I'll tell you if you really want to know, but it probably won't make you feel any better." He says quietly, trying to placate the agent's instincts by forcing his body to relax, and sliding his hand over to gently fix the man's lapels, grooming him in a sense. At least that's what he hopes his instincts think.

Upon seeing the trembling of Q's hand, Bond relaxes a little. "I didn't mean to scare you, Q.." he says quietly, straightening up a little and moving slightly closer. There's still no retreat for the younger man in front of him but he hopes that his stance is a little less aggressive. "I know I've no right to know, Q, but I need to." he says firmly as he looks into his eyes, removing one hand from the wall to lay his palm against the side of Q's neck, curling his fingers around the back slowly while his thumb brushes along the smooth jaw. "Please tell me." Bond tries a gentler tone, a murmur of sound pleading with the young man in front of him.

Not able to help himself, Q presses into the hand lightly for a moment before he catches himself, and removes his hand from Bond. "Perhaps you should have thought about scaring me before you grabbed me in here and started demanding answers.." He says quietly, tilting his head back against the wall behind him and looking at the ceiling for a moment to ponder exactly how humiliating this is. Finally, he looks back down at the blond, this time trembling a little from something other than fear as he sees the intense way those blue eyes are looking at him. "It's my Heat, Bond." he says finally with a sigh. "I take suppressors, but given my position and how many Alpha's I work with, I am required to take time off during my Heat.. just in case." The younger man explains quietly and surprisingly patiently, having Bond so close to him helping to relax him a bit as he takes in the Alpha's scent.

Relaxing fully now that he knows what it is, Bond can't help but smile a little, still brushing his thumb along Q's jaw. "Your Heat.. You had me so worked up over something so simple.." He says quietly, before he smiles. "I can think of much better ways to pass that time besides taking medication and - what? - playing with your laptop?" The tone is clearly suggestive, and he moves his other hand from the wall to move it down to Q's waist, watching the younger man's face and admiring the rather open expression on his face, reading so much more than he's ever been able to. Not able to resist, he leans in, intent on claiming at least one kiss before his Quartermaster remembers himself.

That would require Q forgetting himself, and that is something that he will not allow, especially at work. So when Bond leans in, Q puts his hand against the man's chest, pressing back and turning his head away and to the side. "I will be spending it as I have always spent it, Bond. At home, with the help of suppressors." he says in a firm tone, waiting for the agent to back off before he looks back at him.

Not one to waste an opportunity, Bond takes a deep breath close to Q's skin, placing a quick, chaste kiss on his cheek before he leans back slowly, his hand against the man's neck being removed first. And after another step backwards he releases the brunette completely, taking a slow, deep breath. "You drive me crazy sometimes, Q. And I don't know why. It's really bloody frustrating." he says before he hesitates for a moment. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything. You shouldn't be going out next week, so make sure you stock up on groceries. I'll bring anything you need." Finally, he turns and walks out of the supply closet, and down the hallway again, finding that he has excess energy again after being so close to Q, and so worked up. Something is wrong with him, but it's not the sort of thing he would go to Medical with. No, he'll work this out on his own. he decides to head back to his flat, where he can change and go for a run. A proper run, in the cool air of London instead of the sterile rooms of MI6 and a treadmill.

Breathing heavily after Bond leaves, Q slides to the ground, putting his head against his knees and composing himself for a few long moments. This is dangerous, he knows it. He's especially vulnerable right at the moment, but he knows now just how vulnerable he is to Bond. And he has to be more vigilant, make sure that he won't get caught like this again. Eventually, he pushes himself to his feet, brushes his pants off and straightens his shirt before he steps out of the closet. Q takes a deep breath of the fresher air before he heads back to Q-branch to gather some things to bring back to his flat and make sure that everything is ready for his impromptu vacation. And particularly now, he feels like he needs the distance from those at MI6, particularly a certain troublesome agent.

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**Whoo! Poor Bond and Q. When will they stop dancing around eachother? Probably not for a while, haha. Hope you enjoy this!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

Q makes it two days. He is feeling a little antsy with cabin fever, and while he's got some more things unpacked, he lost all ambition for that. The suppressors are working, but they always give him a bit of hyperactivity and excess energy. Before, he was always able to channel it into his work, but sadly, that is a little impossible right at the moment. The evil of the world has decided to be quiet this week in order to drive the young man mad, it seems.

He didn't take Bond's advice, of course. It's a personal flaw, Q tends to be very stubborn when he's given orders, especially ones issued by Alpha's. And granted, preparing for this week would have been a smart thing to do, but the way Bond said it, as if he didn't know enough to do it on his own, made his stubborn streak flare. He was convinced that he would be fine. But now Q is standing by his front door, staring at it and frowning, not wanting to go out, in fact he's a little afraid to go out.

Giving it up as a bad job, Q turns away from the door, shoulders slumped in defeat, feeling useless once again. Can't even take care of himself correctly during his Heat. And now he feels like a failure, like so many other times when it comes to his personal life. Slipping back out of his shoes and jacket, Q trudges over to the couch and flops down on it, reaching over to pick up his laptop, he lays back on the couch and rests the laptop on his lap, pulling up a program that will let him text far easier than attempting to use his cellphone. To him, it appears more like a chat program, something that he wrote himself that works with the secure phones that are provided to the agents, and double-ohs specifically.

_Are you available? I may need a favor. -Q._

It doesn't take long before there's a reply, surprising since Q thought Bond would be a rather slow texter, for some reason.

_What happened? Are you alright? -James_

_Yes, I'm quite alright. I just ran out of a few things. I would prefer my current condition not get around to many. You already know. -Q_

_You didn't try going out on your own, did you? -James_

Q sighs a little, frustrated as he glares at the computer screen for a few moments. Because yes, he did bloody well try and go out by himself, but he stopped himself before he could step out of the door. Self-preservation instincts are strong with him apparently. At least right at the moment they are.

_No. I was going to, but I decided against it. -Q_

_Good. I'm at the office but available. What do you need? -James_

_Just some food, from the shop. It seems I wasn't diligent enough in my preparations. Likely because a certain Alpha had me rather flustered. -Q_

_Flustered? That sounds intriguing. So you were thinking about me? -James_

Rolling his eyes a little at this reaction, Q sighs and shakes his head. He should have known that Bond would take this opportunity to flirt. Of course, he is finding this a little fun. Conversation without having to worry about proximity or perceptions of anyone else. He can see why people have fun flirting now.

_Only how you were terrorizing me and deliberately intimidating me. You may be used to such things, but I'm afraid I am not. My job does not usually have to do with being threatened on a daily basis. -Q_

_I didn't deliberately intimidate you. You really have no idea the effect you have, do you? I would have been fine, but you slipped up. You said 'leave'. Bloody genius that you are, you never slip up. Always deliberate. -James_

_Yes, well. Sorry about that. But that only happened after you got into my personal space. You are so jaded to using sex as a weapon and your effect on the opposite sex, I don't think you realize the impact you have. -Q_

_Impact, hm? I'm glad you're not as unaffected as you seem. - James_

_Are all double-ohs as dense as you are? Honestly. Considering your reputation, I would have thought you were more observant. -Q_

_My reputation? -James_

_Oh, like you don't know. Womanizer. -Q_

_Ah, that one. -James_

_Yes, that one. -Q_

_In my defense, most people give off signals. Trying to read you is like trying to read a brick wall. You're cold, Q. -James_

_I can't afford to be anything less in my position. I am an Omega who is technically the superior to a slew of double-ohs and other agents, a great deal of which are Alpha's. -Q_

_Understood, Q. What do you need? -James_

The sudden change form somewhat flirty to businesslike makes Q's mood plummet, and he sighs a little as he turns his head and looks at his TV which is on but muted. He was beginning to enjoy the repartee`, but it seems as if Bond as remembered himself. He must have been staring off into space for longer than he thought because his computer soon pings with a received text, and he is pulled back, but with a dampened mood.

_Q? Are you alright? -James_

_Yes. Quite alright. -Q_

_What did you need from the shop? - James_

Q provides him with a list of things that he needs, only a few essentials really, and in quantities that will only last him another day or two. After that he will have to figure out something for himself, and he's sure that he will.

_Give me an hour, should be enough time. -James_

_Right. I'll buzz you in, then knock and leave the bags by the door. -Q_

_Really, I'm going to come all that way and you won't even let me in? -James_

_No. I don't think it would be wise. -Q_

_I'd like to see you, Q, maybe talk for a minute. You're taking suppressors, right? -James_

_Of course. -Q_

_Then you really should have nothing to worry about. At least with me. -James_

_You just want to see my flat, don't you? -Q_

_I want to see you. -James_

_Fine. I'll see you in an hour. -Q_

Taking a deep breath and slowly forcing himself to sit up, Q puts his laptop on the table and works on some files before he gets up and does the small amount of dishes that he needs to do but he leaves them on the rack to dry, fidgeting with a few things. The flat is a mess, and he knows that he should be working on cleaning it up a little more. So he collects some socks and random clothes that are around, tossing them into a laundry basket he has for just that reason, and piling up some empty boxes.

When his intercom buzzes, Q wanders over to it and hits the button to let whoever it is in, figuring that it's probably Bond because the timing is right. Waiting a few minutes as the person makes their way up the stairs, he looks out the peep hole and lets the agent in after he knocks, carrying two bags from the shop.

"Hello, Bond." Q says almost shyly as he looks at the agent, closing the door behind him. "You can put the bags over there." He says as he points to the counter in his kitchen. "Sorry.. about the mess. Haven't unpacked."

"You've been here for two days and one evening and you haven't unpacked everything yet? Doesn't seem like you have that much to unpack." Bond points out as he looks around, instantly assessing possible entries and threats, and he moves over to put the bags on the counter as he's told, taking in the little details.

Q blushes a little, adjusting his glasses and running a hand through his hair, only dressed in a t-shirt and shorts at the moment and looking a bit younger than he might have any other time Bond has seen him. "I've just been.. tired." He somewhat lies. He's been energetic but not wanting to do anything. Frankly he's been feeling lazy.

Turning his shrewd eyes on Q, Bond considers him for a few moments before he walks over, resting a hand on the back of his neck and rubbing it gently in a soothing manner. "It's alright, Q. It's your flat, you can do what you want. Did you live with anyone before coming here?" He asks curiously as he watches the Omega.

Leaning back a little into the touch, Q relaxes and he sighs a little, briefly closing his eyes. "Yes. I had a flatmate. A Beta. When I got the promotion, MI6 moved me here, because it was more secure." He explains as he looks around for a few moments.

"And before that, you lived with your parents, I'd wager? So you've never really lived on your own?" Bond guesses as he looks at Q curiously, continuing to rub and stroke the back of his neck, otherwise keeping himself as merely a warm and comforting presence behind one of the brunette's shoulders.

"What of it?" Q asks, slightly defensively as he turns his head to look back at Bond, frowning a little since he isn't sure what the agent might be getting at.

Smiling softly as he watches the younger man, resting his hand flat against the back of his neck, Bond looks into those green eyes for a moment. "You're used to someone being there to take care of you. You need someone to look after you, don't you?" He asks softly in a gentle tone, turning his body toward the Omega slowly. "You forget to eat, to do things like the dishes, unpacking boxes, probably laundry as well." He says as he looks around the apartment slowly.

Glancing around his apartment as well, Q moves away from Bond, knowing the truth of those words and feeling ashamed of them as he walks over to start unpacking the bags. "It's not as if I can't survive on my own, Bond. It's just... taking a bit of adjusting." He says slowly, frowning a little as he pulls out a bag of crisps and a box of biscuits which he did not ask for, but both of which he does like. "It's not as if I'm completely defective."

"Q, I didn't mean to imply that you were defective. It's not entirely uncommon among Omega's, to have trouble adjusting to living on your own. Some of them never can, so I'd say you're managing rather well." Bond says as he watches the younger man, taking in everything about him. It's refreshing to see this more vulnerable, relaxed side to his Quartermaster that he didn't even know existed.

"It's rather less common than you seem to think, Bond." Q says with a small little sigh, leaning on the counter. "Well. Thank you for the food. You've now seen my flat and I am sure you can see that it's secure, no you cannot see the other rooms." He says before he brushes past the agent and walks over to the door to unlock it. This is getting a little uncomfortable for him, both on an emotional sense because he feels so vulnerable, but also physically because he has an odd urge to just curl up in Bond's lap.

Not planning on forcing his presence on Q, especially after the supply closet incident, Bond wanders over to the door and then looks at Q for a moment, reaching out and brushing the backs of his fingers along his jaw slowly. "You are so bloody gorgeous, Q..." he says slowly as he watches him for a moment, letting his hand drop before he takes Q's hand in his for a moment, turning it and placing a soft kiss on the center of his palm. "Text me any time, Q. Quiet week." he says before he smiles. "Goodnight, Q." he says softly before he opens the door himself and steps out, looking back at Q for a moment with a soft smile before he heads toward the stairs.

Confused and not able to really react properly in the face of the sudden affection from the agent, Q just nods a little and closes the door, locking it and leaning against it for a moment. Well, that was very odd, Q muses to himself before he pushes away to finish putting the groceries away and to make himself something to eat, all the while thinking about James, who really has gone out of his way to take care of Q.

* * *

**Tried a bit of a different format, hope you all don't mind, it just made sense to me that Q would refer something like that, a little more distance between him and Bond. :) Not that anything can keep them apart for long!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

Another day goes by where Q is actually a bit productive and gets some work done, going over paperwork and arranging for Eve to come pick up some things that need to go back to the office, leading to a half hour chat that actually relaxes the younger man quite a bit. He's staring unseeing at the TV when he hears his laptop ping, telling him he has an incoming text message, and he takes a deep breath before he reaches over and pulls the laptop closer to him.

_How are you tonight? -James_

It's not surprising, or at least it shouldn't be, Q should have known who was texting him as soon as the laptop pinged, but at the moment his mind doesn't seem to be working well.

_I'm fine. -Q_

_Don't tell me you're pouting because they're keeping you away from work? -James_

_No, I'm not. -Q_

_What's the matter, Q? You're being very quiet tonight. -James_

_Nothing is wrong. Why do you sign your texts 'James'? -Q_

_It's my name. -James_

_I know it's your name. -Q_

_Maybe I do it hoping you'll use my name. -James_

_That would not be very professional. -Q_

_It's after hours, Q, and technically you are on vacation. -James_

Q can't help but smile a little as he reads that last text, shaking his head before he sighs a little. James Bond, always breaking the rules, flaunting them actually. Still, he decides that this form of communication will allow a little more honesty.

_I'm not ok, James. -Q_

_What's wrong? -James_

_You were right. I don't manage well on my own. I feel like a failure, which makes me feel worse and less like keeping up on everything. -Q_

_You're hardly a failure, Q. Though I understand now why you stay late at the office, why you might not want to go back to your flat. At least you feel useful in Q-branch, right? - James_

_Yes, surprisingly perceptive of you. I'm lonely. But I can't go out, not right now. And I don't have time to go out otherwise. Can't fraternize with any of my employees or at the office. -Q_

_Why not? There are no rules against it. -James_

_I am sure you checked for it just in case as well. It just wouldn't be proper, James. I suppose I just need to resign myself to ignoring things such as loneliness. My job is too important to let it interfere. -Q_

_Let me come over, Q. I'm not suggesting anything intimate, it just seems like you could use company tonight. And as you said, only a few people know where you live, as it should be. -James_

_I don't think that's a good idea. -Q_

_You worry too much. -James_

_I do not. And it's still not a good idea. -Q_

_Walk on the wild side for once, Q. Let me come over. -James_

Q stares at the screen, his fingers hesitating over the keyboard. He wouldn't mind having the man come over. Bond was right, he didn't want to be alone tonight, and it was either him or Even who knows where he lives and he could consider asking over. And quite frankly, James' company seems preferable right now to that of Ms. Moneypenny. Maybe he'd even get a cuddle out of it. That would be rather nice.

_Fine. -Q_

_I'll be there in half an hour. -James_

Putting the laptop aside, Q looks down at himself, in his pajama pants and t-shirt, and decides that the agent will just have to deal with his attire as he doesn't feel like changing. Slowly, he does get up and clears away some trash and dishes, putting the kettle on. The least he can do is offer his guest some tea. When the buzzer sounds it nearly makes him jump out of his skin though as he goes over and buzzes Bond in, noticing his hand is trembling. Is he nervous or is his hand trembling in anticipation, Q wonders as he stares at it before he walks over and pours the boiling water into the two cups, just in time for him to return to the door and open it for Bond, shutting it behind the agent and watching him warily for a moment.

Also dressed more casually than Q has ever seen him, Bond is wearing jeans, boots, and a dark, short-sleeved polo shirt under his jacket which he removes and hangs up by the door. "You look horrible, have you been sleeping?" Bond asks as he reaches out and rests the backs of his fingers against Q's forehead lightly, checking to make sure he isn't getting sick.

Q pulls his head back and gives a little glare to Bond. "Yes, I've been sleeping. But not well. And I'm not sick." he says in a somewhat petulant tone. Sighing a little, he turns and walks on bare feet to the kitchen and finish preparing the tea.

"Are these the famed pajamas that you boasted about?" Bond asks as he looks Q over, admiring the way the pants hung off the younger man's slim hips, waiting a beat before following him into the kitchen, looking around slowly. "I could get very used to seeing you like this, Q." he says honestly, resting his hand on the back of Q's waist for a few moments. "Anything good on the tellie?" he asks as he slips past Q behind him, using the excuse of the hand letting the younger man know exactly where the agent is as he moves behind him, until he is past and can start looking through cabinets, finding the crisps he bought and popping a package of popcorn in the microwave.

"Yes, these are my pajamas, Bond." Q says with some exasperation, blushing a little as he takes the tea bags out of the cups, avoiding looking at the agent but enjoying the touch. "You just can't help saying things like that, can you?" He asks with a certain sense of frustration, watching the agent out of the corner of his eye and the familiar way the older man moves around his kitchen. "And no, I haven't really looked hard but so far there is nothing good on."

James smiles a little, relaxed and natural as he looks at the man next to him. "I haven't ever lied to you, Q. It's surprising that no one has ever commented on how attractive you are. Honestly, Q, you're bloody adorable." he says as he finds a bowl suitable for the popcorn. "You don't know how many times I've just wanted to hug you."

Sighing and sliding one of the mugs of tea over to the agent, Q picks up his own and snags the crisps, heading back to the couch, sitting down and propping his bare feet up on his coffee table. "My looks have never been what has been valued when it comes to interest in me. My mind is far more valuable." He explains as he watches the agent shyly.

Empty the popcorn into the bowl, Bond takes it and his tea and walks over to Q, stepping over the man's long legs in order to sit down beside him. "I suppose I'll just have to find a way to convince you it's the truth, then." He says confidently as he leans back and gets comfortable, casually eating some of the popcorn before he holds the bowl out to Q. Even in this day and age, it's rare for a strong Alpha like Bond to share his food voluntarily, and it shows how much trust he has in Q, or that he wants him as a potential mate, it's sort of hard to figure out sometimes.

Staring for a few moments, Q takes a handful of popcorn and eats it slowly. "You're rather determined." He says as he shifts to get comfortable, crossing his legs at the ankle after retrieving the remote. "It has been some time since I've been on a date. Perhaps I should find someone to go out with. Of course, that means lying to them unless they're from MI6. It's not fair of me to ask you to keep me company when I get particularly lonely, and that's assuming you're even in London." he says thoughtfully as he sips his tea a little.

Rather happy to be able to feed Q, Bond smiles a little at first, then the idea of the younger man with anyone else darkens the agent's expression. It also sends a surge of jealousy through him, causing him to frown, though at least he contains the reflexive growl that comes to his throat. "I don't like the idea of you with anyone else. Much less some random person from outside of MI6, that seems too dangerous." He says in a warning tone as he stares at Q intensely, his blue eyes taking in every nuance of his expression for a few long moments.

"Of course you don't, Bond. You're an Alpha, and I'm an Omega who you've become friends with. Your instincts would hardly like the idea of me with anyone else, but we're not animals, James." Q says, using the man's first name for the first time in actual conversation. "We aren't slaves to our instincts." He reminds the older man as he finishes his handful of popcorn and brushes his hand off on his pants, leaning forward on his legs a little and to put his mug on the table.

Unable to help himself, Bond puts the popcorn aside as he reaches out, placing his hand flat against the middle of Q's back, sliding it up along his spine to the back of his neck, thumb stroking the pale column of skin. "Q.. you are an idiot sometimes. Yes, it has to do with instincts, but it has to do with feelings as well. I don't want you with anyone else because the idea drives me crazy with jealousy. I don't know if I could tolerate someone's scent on you." He says honestly, leaning his head forward to lightly rest his nose on Q's shoulder for a moment before he leans back a little, still stroking the back of Q's neck.

Sighing a little and closing his eyes, Q relaxes under Bond's touch. "You shouldn't say things like that, James." He says quietly. "You might get a person's hopes up.." he says quietly, sitting up straighter and leaning back into the hand on his neck a little.

"I don't see how that's a problem." James says before he uses his hold on Q to pull him backwards a little, hand moving down to his shoulder to draw the boffin back against his chest little, putting his arm around the brunette's slim shoulders and lets it hang down his opposite arm. "Why don't we just watch a bit of tellie for a while." He says in a quick change of subject, grabbing the remote and flicking through channels until he finds something tolerable.

Although he's not quite sure how to take this, he does enjoy where he is, so Q doesn't object, he just takes a deep breath, nestling his head against the agent's shoulder before he relaxes and nods. "Alright." He agrees as he turns his attention to the TV, eyes quickly drooping as his attention wanes and his comfort increases.

"That's it. Just relax." James murmurs softly into Q's hair, listening to his breathing even out, allowing his fingers to brush along the younger man's arm gently to soothe him into the sleep he seems to need.

* * *

**Adorable! Sorry for a tiny delay in posting, I got caught up in one of my other stories. :) I figured it was time for something to happen between these two, even though it's not much, it's super cute. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8

After Q falls asleep, James continues to hold him, enjoying the closeness and the warmth in a way he finds quite unexpected. As unexpected as his little confession earlier. He's not really sure what to do about that. Everything he said was true but he also knows that he doesn't want to claim Q as his Omega, only to leave him alone so often, it might not be good for the younger man. And neither of them can change.

Turning his head a little, he nuzzles against Q's hair for a moment, pressing his nose into the curls and taking a slow, deep breath before he pulls back a little and examines Q's sleeping face before he sits up slowly and slips his arm beneath Q's knees to pick him up easily. He frowns lightly as he feels how light the younger man is before he stands slowly and walks toward one of the back rooms, following the highest concentration of the brunette's scent.

The bedroom is probably the messiest place in the house, making James shake his head a little as he looks at the clothes strewn across the floors, some hanging out of drawers, and he gently lays Q on his bed, arranging him in what should be a comfortable position before he covers him with the blankets. Lightly, he reaches out to brush Q's hair back from his forehead, deciding to take a chance and take a bit of advantage of the situation, leaning over and placing a tender, lingering kiss on Q's lips.

Q stirs a little in his sleep, responding to the kiss slightly but he doesn't wake up, just turning his head a little to the side and curling up a little to get comfortable, letting out a breathless. "James.." Before he nuzzles his pillow and falls back asleep.

For a moment James watches the younger man before he shakes his head, cleaning up his room a little bit and making sure that Q is tucked in before he slips out into the main room, sitting down on the couch to finish the popcorn at the very least. It seemed like Q needed the sleep, which makes him wonder why the younger man isn't getting the sleep he so obviously needs.

Seeing how things are here though, Bond decides that he can't leave tonight, so he gets up and locks the door, making sure it's secure before he slips out of his shoes and starts turning off the lights. It's not that he intends to sleep just yet but he settles down to get comfortable on the couch, stripping down to his trousers and his t-shirt undershirt, clothes folded neatly on the chair before he lays down on the couch and grabs up the remote to flip channels. Eventually he drifts off, not really fully asleep but not awake by any means, one arm stretched above his head between the back of the couch and the arm, his other hand resting on his stomach, the edge of his t-shirt pulling up to reveal a triangle of skin along his side.

It's hours before Q wakes up sharply from his dream, never sleeping well during his Heat because of odd dreams he always has, brought on by the change in hormones, or at least, his body attempting to change hormones. With a small whimper since he's so tired, the young man gets out of bed and drags himself out toward the kitchen to get something to eat, sighing a bit at what he thinks is Bond's lingering scent.

The movement wakes the agent up though, who looks around immediately until he spots Q in the dim light from the TV. Slowly, he gets up, moving silently on his bare feet, until he can slide his arms around Q's waist from behind. "What are you doing out of bed?" He asks softly in a relaxed, sleepy tone, nuzzling into the brunette's curls.

More than a little startled, Q jumps and stiffens a little until he recognizes the voice, then he murmurs, "I woke up." He says simply with a small shrug, but he's not fully awake, his shields not all in place, so he leans back against Bond and puts his hands over the agent's arms, tilting his head to expose his neck a little. "Why are you still here?" he murmurs quietly.

"Just wanted to make sure you'd get a full night's sleep. Seems like you need it." James says as he turns his head and places a kiss above Q's ear in his hair, before he nuzzles downward and places a slow kiss on Q's exposed neck. "Why did you wake up? Did you have a bad dream?" He asks softly, lips brushing Q's skin.

Shivering a little, Q nods quietly, hands tightening around Bond's arms. "Yes.." He murmurs, tilting his head up and stretching his head to the side in what a part of him hopes is an encouraging gesture. "Always have strange, disturbing dreams around my Heat." He says before he sighs a little. "Bloody hormones.." he grumbles.

A small smile is given against Q's neck at the Omega's actions, and he places another kiss, then a third closer to the juncture of his neck and shoulder. "I can think of a way to stop those dreams.." he says before he smiles a little when he feels the younger man stiffen in his arms. "I wasn't meaning that, Q.." he reassures, waiting until he relaxes before he straightens and slowly turns the Omega around so they're face-to-face, keeping one strong arm around his waist, the other hand sliding up to rest along the side of his neck, thumb brushing across Q's jaw, feeling the sandpaper stubble starting to form. "Sleep in my arms tonight, and see if that doesn't stop your nightmares." He finally suggests, blue eyes meeting green.

Shivering a little at the touch, Q sighs a little, and he leans forward to rest his forehead on Bond's shoulder. "Alright.. but just sleep.. and only because I'm so tired.." He grumbles quietly.

Kissing the side of Q's head again gently, James nods quietly. "Go back to bed.. I'll be back in a moment." he reassures as he pulls back from Q, releasing him finally and nudging him toward the bedroom. When he finally goes, Bond goes to turn off the television, shutting shades and then coming to the bedroom, removing his belt and pants which leaves him in just boxers before he crawls up onto the empty side of the bed. Reaching out after he gets himself under the covers, James pulls Q back against him. "Relax, Q.. We both need sleep.." he murmurs softly, brushing his lips against the younger man's neck again for a moment before he settles down comfortably to sleep.

Q really does try and fall asleep the way Bond arranged them, but it doesn't work well, so he shifts and slowly turns over until they're facing eachother, fitting his head beneath Bond's, a thin arm sneaking around the agent's waist, while he tangles one leg with the older man's, not meant to be sexual just to be close to the Alpha. That does it apparently though, the closeness, warmth, comfort and scent means that he quickly falls into a deep sleep, especially when he feels James relax into sleep as well.

A night of solid sleep does wonders for Q, and he wakes up feeling more rested than he has in weeks. The only problem comes when he opens his eyes and he notices that the bed next to him is empty and cold. For a few moments he blinks at it, uncomprehending, and he even wonders if it might have all been a dream. But the arrangement of the covers and the pillow next to his means that it wasn't a dream, so where was the agent?

Taking a slow, deep breath, Q reaches out and pulls Bond's pillow against him, inhaling his scent and biting his lip hard, trying not to let the sudden feeling of rejection overwhelm him. For a moment he lays there with his eyes closed before he pushes himself to sit up, looking around the room for any sign of the agent. Not seeing any, his shoulders sag a little and he runs a hand through his hair, determining that tea is what he really needs.

As he approaches the kitchen he starts to notice the delicious smells coming from it, stomach rumbling. With hopes lifting, Q steps into the kitchen, only to be disappointed when he sees that there is no agent to be seen. There is, however, a covered plate and some dishes drying on the rack, a folded piece of paper standing up beside the plate.

Reaching out with a trembling hand, the young man picks up the note and hesitates before opening it and reading what's inside:

Q,

Sorry I had to leave, something came up at M called me in and you were dead asleep. I thought you could use the rest. I made you breakfast, so eat something. I'll text you later.

Bond

Sagging in relief, Q sits down on one of his stools and he laughs softly in a way that relieves the tension he was feeling, and the crushing weight of rejection. No, it wasn't rejection, it was just a double-oh doing his job, while trying to take care of Q at the same time. This makes him smile, and after briefly reheating his food, he devours everything, cleans up and then goes to take a shower, feeling quite good this morning as he dresses and then goes about getting his final boxes unpacked, the flat looking a little like a home. Which occupies him for most of the morning, but after he's back to where he was the day before, trapped inside with very little to do, besides some work, which is the last thing on his mind at the moment. Like an addict, he looks over at his laptop for a few moments, considering the witty repartee that he and Bond share, smiling softly before he shakes his head and decides to watch a bit of tellie instead. Let the agent sweat it out a bit, if that were possible.

* * *

**So I've been trying to keep a chapter ahead in my writing, but that doesn't work well. I didn't want to leave you in suspense, so here you are! IN a week or so there should be plenty more, as I have a week of vacation! :) Hope you all enjoy!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

That's not exactly the sort of thing that James is prone to, and after the brief meeting with M, he goes to work off some of the anxious feelings that he's been having all morning, That was only made worse when he realizes that he has a mission he has to go out on, and he probably won't have Q in his ear for this one. Not that it should be hard, more of a honeypot mission really. While that's never been a problem before, something about it this time leaves a bad taste in his mouth, which is why he's in the pool doing lap after lap, trying to clear his mind. Finally, he stops, taking deep breaths as he sits on the edge of the pool.

"Are you going to tell him?" Eve asks from where she had come in and watched him the last few laps, smiling a little, admiring the wet, half-naked man in front of her. He was fun, but there's no way she'd go there again. No way in hell. But it doesn't mean she can't enjoy the eye candy.

Bond looks back at Eve for a few moments, taking a deep breath. "Tell who what exactly?" He asks as he watches her curiously, grabbing his towel and rubbing it over his cropped hair and face before he starts to dry the rest of himself off.

Shaking her head a little in amusement, Eve sighs a little. "You know exactly who I'm talking about, Bond. Q, of course." She says with a little smile. "Don't play coy. You two have been spending time together. I just thought that you should tell him, make sure that he's aware and prepared, rather than waiting until he finds out on his own. You know he'll be cross about it if you don't tell him yourself. I'm not suggesting anything is going on between you two beyond friendship." She reassures as she holds up her hands, then she smiles. "But you are an Alpha and an Omega, and as much as you might want to deny it, that will play a part." She says as she watches him carefully.

"If I didn't know better, I would think you were his bloody mother." Bond says with amusement. "As it happens, I was going to have a chat with him anyway, see how he's getting on with his little vacation. He'll have to look after himself, while I'm away, afterall." He says with a slight smirk. "And don't read anything into that, Moneypenny. He's the best Q we've ever had, and if I recall, the double-ohs have the highest success rate in years. Not to mention injuries have gone down significantly." He points out as he watches the woman, showing that he's not just a pretty face. He does pay attention, and he is much smarter than he might appear.

Eve seems surprised though and her eyebrows go up. "Well, you've been doing your research.. Preparing your argument rather well." She says with amusement as she looks at him, then she shakes her head "Do what you like, Bond. But don't come crying to me if things go wrong." She says with a little smile before she turns to head back to her office or wherever it was she was going when she decided to stop to chat up 007.

Shaking his head a little, Bond gathers his things and heads to the locker rooms to shower and change, disliking the smell of the chlorine from the pool, no matter how understanding he might be of its presence. This is just business, it's his job and the Quartermaster will understand that, no matter what personal feelings may or may not be there. Eve may be right however, the agent will have to proceed cautiously. Any other time he might not worry about it, but even with suppressors, hormones will be running high for Q right now. It will be best to do this face to face, James decides as he dresses and then heads for the door.

When Bond arrives at his flat, Q was dozing on the couch after finishing a bit of programming and paperwork which is spread out on his coffee table at the moment. He jerks awake at the knock on the door, making him get up and stumble toward the door. "Bond?" He asks in surprise as he peers through the peep hole, opening the door slowly. "What are you doing here?" He asks warily with a small frown.

James arches an eyebrow, but slips into the flat, looking around warily for a few moments, before he turns back to look at the young boffin. "I have a mission, I'll be leaving later on tonight." There's no need to beat around the bush so he figures the blunt way is the best. "It's nothing that should keep me away for very long. R can give me my kit." He says as he looks at Q, then adds, "It's just intelligence gathering." For some reason he can't make himself say what it is, that it's a honeypot mission. Intelligence gathering, yes, but it involves a beautiful woman and usually ends up in seduction.

Closing the door slowly, Q watches Bond warily for a moment, before he nods. "Ah. A so-called 'honeypot' mission, then. I'm still technically off work for the next two days, so you have no obligation to tell me about your mission. R will provide any assistance you need." He says in a cool tone, mostly angry at himself for the irrational jealousy he felt when he realized what Bond meant by 'intelligence gathering'. He disguises it though, by hiding in the kitchen and starting some tea, trying to withdraw and reconstruct his walls. He's not sure what exactly happened in the last few days, but it's not a good thing.

Following Q into the kitchen, Bond leans against the counter a little, watching the younger man for a few moments. "I'm sure. I'm not obligated to tell you anything, Q, but I'd like to think we're friends. If I disappeared for a few days, I wouldn't want you to worry." he says simply with a small smile. "And I didn't want you to get angry if you found out." He says with a small smile, coming up behind the brunette, putting his hand on his lower back for a moment, hesitating before he slides it up to rest on the back of his neck. "And I still want to make sure you're taking care of yourself." He says quietly.

Stiffening a little, Q turns and swats Bond's arm away, finding himself suddenly angry. "Friends. I would not worry about you after a few days, 007. A week, perhaps. A month, most definitely. But not a few days." He says as he glares a little at the older man. "And while we're on the topic, you should check yourself, Bond. You have fallen into the habit of being overly familiar with me. I am guilty of being lonely during this week, and I admit I acted out of weakness. However, I believe we should nip this in the bud, seeing as I'll be returning to work in a few days and you of course have your mission, which I am quite sure you'll be happy to get on with." he says in a cold tone, moving out of reach of the Alpha. And maybe he shouldn't take out his anger at the agent, but he has no other outlet, and the infuriating man makes a good target.

Even the most patient people can snap when their frustrations reach a certain peak, and James has just hit that point. He came here out of courtesy and because he admits to himself he actually likes Q, and could maybe, just maybe, see a future between them. The young boffin is also the most infuriating man he's ever met. There is a moment of stillness before he reaches out to grab the younger man by the wrists, shoving him back into a wall at the edge of the counter, and pinning his wrists to the wall while he lets out a growl. "You bloody idiot!" He hisses. "I've had about as much as I can stand at the moment of your idiocy. You may be able to fool others, but you can't fool me. I can see through your facade, I can read your body."He says in a low, dangerous tone. There's few times he's genuinely gotten angry, and unfortunately this is one of them. "There is no damned reason except stubbornness why you can't be my Omega." He says as he watches Q, before he moves closer, so their bodies are a hairs breadth apart. "You can't say it's just your Heat, either. The way you've responded to me over the past few months, the way you look whenever I get close, whenever our skin touches.." His hands gentle around the young Omega's wrists, index and middle fingers sliding up to press into his palms, as he drops his head slightly toward the startled looking man. "And don't be immature enough to use my job as an excuse, one that you never seemed to mind before, so long as I never smelled like them when I came back." he says before he lets out a frustrated growl under his breath, seeming about to say something else but he bridges the distance to claim Q's lips in a possessive, passionate kiss.

Normally Q would have a witty, sharp response ready by the time that Bond had finished talking, or even interrupt his monologue, the force which the agent uses and the reminder that he is quite lethal, silences the younger man for a moment as he stares up into the icy blue eyes of 007. This is not the normal agent that he's used to, this is an Alpha. One that frankly scares him a touch, but also makes his heart pound in a good way. And while he hates to admit it, James is right. He is excited by the agent's presence, and not just because of his Heat. He actually would like to be claimed by this man, but at the same time it scares him more than anything and he isn't entirely sure what to do about it. When the kiss comes though, he doesn't object, his whole body relaxing even as his instincts take control a little and he tries to push forward into the kiss, hampered a little by the hands holding his wrists though.

After thoroughly plundering Q's mouth and pulling the younger man's hands around his neck, James pulls away and takes a deep breath, his hands sliding down the brunette's sides to grab his hips. Slowly, the agent lowers his head and nuzzles lightly at the boffin's neck, placing a light kiss against the soft skin. "Q.. you are driving me bloody crazy..." He mumbles softly as he holds him, taking a slow, deep breath. "I need to go soon, get my gear and catch my flight." Bond says reluctantly, having calmed down at least a little though it seems. Lifting his head sharply, he looks at Q sharply for a moment, searching his eyes. "We will talk about this when I get back. Not at work. I understand that. Don't try and keep me out, Q, or avoid me, because I swear, I will break your bloody door down. Understood?" he asks, putting one hand along the side of Q's neck, thumb holding his chin up slightly so the agent can look into the younger man's eyes.

Feeling a little dazed from the kiss, Q leans his head back against the wall for a moment, arms remaining where they were placed around the agent's neck. A small shudder goes through his body when Bond turns his attentions toward his neck, and then he tries to pay attention to what the agent is saying to him, color creeping up his cheeks despite himself as he tries to recover himself. "Very well, Bond. When you get back, we'll talk, but that is all I'm promising." He says before he takes a deep breath. "You should go." He finally says, trying to recover himself.

With a slight smile as he looks at the younger man, James nods quietly and moves away, taking a slow, deep breath. "I'll see you when I get back." he says with a firm nod before he slowly moves away from the warmth of the boffin, straightening his jacket a little before he reaches out to brush his thumb across Q's lower lip. "I'll see you in a few days." And before anything else can be said, Bond turns and exits the kitchen, walking out the door without looking back.

Q is left a little weak in the knees as he watches the agent go and he sighs a little, closing his eyes and then taking a slow, deep breath to center himself and try to rebuild the walls that were just obliterated and try to figure out what he just agreed to. At times like these, sometimes he wishes he hadn't perfected his aloof facade quite so well. Then he might have someone to discuss this with. But between being the head of Q-branch and his own attitude, it turns out that he doesn't have any friends. And he doesn't dare talk to anyone at MI6. No, he's all alone to figure this out and he only has a few days to do it.

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**One of them finally got over their stubbornness and made the first move! Now the big question is.. how will their conversation go once Bond comes back? At least they will both be in their right minds, then. Thank you guys for reading, I hope you're still enjoying this!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	10. Chapter 10

Q finally returns to work after a few days, and he is more than relieved to be back in a familiar environment. Bond still hasn't returned, and he's alright with that seeing as he still hasn't figured out what he wants when the agent gets back and they have that talk. So he buries himself in his work, putting it all behind him for now and resolving not to think about the agent.

For once, everything is moving smoothly in Q-branch, leaving the Quartermaster enough time to get caught up on paperwork and move on to some projects that he's been interested in trying to finish, things that will benefit the double-ohs. Tinkering with something again, working with something other than computers, is deeply satisfying for Q, and he ends up staying too late at the office, finding himself yawning on almost every other breath. "Well, then.. I can't go home like this." He mumbles to himself as he puts his tools down and removes his glasses to pinch his nose. "I'll just take a nap.." He mumbles as he gets up and stretches and then he walks over to his couch to lay down.

When Bond returns, that's where he finds the boffin early in the morning. He stopped by his flat and found out he wasn't there, so he returned to MI6 in order to try and find him. Of course, his honeypot mission did not go quite as planned. His target had a rather aggressive bodyguard who had to be dealt with, leaving him with a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious.

At one time, Bond enjoyed these sorts of missions - or any mission that included a beautiful woman - but now it's all hollow. It's all fake, though he performs his duty and his mark this time didn't seem to be able to tell the difference. Sure, he enjoyed it in a carnal way, but it still left him feeling hollow and unsatisfied. he was more than happy to leave the woman's bed.

It's with a fond smile that he slips through Q branch and into the young man's office, only to see him curled up on the couch. Q's tie is loosened, his shirt untucked and sleeves rolled up, which results in him appearing to be in general disarray. It's something that Bond finds somewhat adorable, and he smiles a little as he closes the door to the office behind him before he walks over to the couch and carefully kneels down beside it, brushing some hair away from the younger man's face. "You really are hopeless.." he murmurs in an affectionate tone before he leans down and places a tender kiss on the younger man's temple, taking in his scent for a moment to cleanse his thoughts.

Startled out of his sleep, Q wakes with a gasp, looking around for a few moments, bewildered, before he focuses on the figure on the edge of the couch. "Bond?" He asks, before he reaches up to grab his glasses and put them on so that he can focus more properly on the agent in front of him. "Stopped here before going to medical again?" He asks, feeling slightly annoyed with that but not showing it, his emotion aback in check so he's able to maintain his facade again.

Bond smirks a little. "Just a few scratches. You're one to talk, you should be at home sleeping, not in this office." He points out as he moves back to allow the boffin to sit up, and he sits more properly on the couch, watching Q with a small smile.

Stretching his arms above his head, Q sighs a little as he relaxes. "I was working on a project. I thought it would be safer for me to stay here and sleep rather than go home when I could barely stand up. You see, Bond, I am aware of the weaknesses of my biology." He points out as he gives the older man a sharp look. "Have you brought my equipment back in working order?" He asks suspiciously.

"Yes, Q.. in working order and in one piece. On your desk." Bond says as he points toward the desk, before he scoots a little closer to the other man. "So.. have you missed me, Q?" he asks in a playful, teasing tone.

Q just scoffs a little as he stands up. "I hadn't thought about it to be honest, I've been much too busy." he says casually as he stretches a little, and then walks over to the desk to look at the equipment that's brought back, examining it for a few moments before he puts it in his desk drawer for further logging and examination later. "What time is it?" He mumbles as he rubs one of his eyes and picks up a bottle of water he left on the desk to chug about half of it as he looks at the time.

Watching the younger man with amusement but a little bit of frustration, Bond gets up slowly. "It's early. Far too early for your minions to be coming in." He says simply as he strides over to where Q is. "If you're awake enough to fuss over equipment, then I'm taking you home." He says firmly as he looks into the younger man's eyes.

With him so close, Q realizes he had forgotten what an overwhelming presence Bond has, or perhaps he attributed it to the drugs and his messed up hormones. Now that he knows he's on steady emotionally, he's surprised when his heart starts to pound when Bond gets close enough and he turns slowly to look at the older man. "And what do you plan on doing? You're injured, Bond, you need to go to Medical, not worry about me." he says quietly, but he surprises himself with how husky his voice sounds.

A slow smile spreads across the agent's face as he hears Q's tone change, looking down into those green eyes curiously for a few moments. "Well, I hadn't thought past that. Surely you can tend to my wounds, Quartermaster, there's nothing but scratches." He reassures with a little smile as he moves in closer, leaning in toward the Omega.

It's not until he leans in that Q notices something is off. And it's something that, once identified, makes him bristle and stiffen. "Get away from me." he says in a cold tone as he suddenly glares at the now very confused looking agent. Quickly, he ducks away and puts distance between the two of them, glaring a bit at Bond. "Bloody fucking hell, James. You know I don't care what you have to do on your sodding missions. A mission is a mission. Coming back smelling like your mark, with her bloody lipstick still on your neck?!" he asks, his voice raising, having seen the lipstick first, and then smelled the sweet scent of perfume among other things, that had been hidden before under the stronger and more concerning smell of Bond's blood. "I'll have a car drive me home. Take a fucking shower, 007." He says coldly as he snatches up his jacket. Yeah, maybe it's irrational, since he has no claim over Bond and he said himself that he doesn't care what the agent does for missions. The agent knows better than to come back without showering first though. Which leads Q to believe that he did it on purpose. And that is not acceptable, to try and make Q jealous like that.

There are very few times when things catch him so off-guard that Bond cannot control his expression, and this is one of them, looking at Q in shock at the sudden change of attitude. At least until he figures out why. He could get angry or argue with the other man about it, but he doesn't really have any defense. He knows that there is an understanding between them as to what happens on missions, so long as it's not shoved in the Quartermaster's face, like it apparently is now. So instead, the agent backs off and he nods quietly. "My apologies, Q. I forgot I hadn't had time, things went a bit sideways with the mission." he says before he watches the man for a few moments. "I'll do that." he agrees when he's told to go take a shower. Instead of reaching out for the younger man, James lets him go, watching him leave the office. What he doesn't say is that as soon as he showers he plans on visiting the Quartermaster again.

Q storms out of his office after getting his bag, barely hearing what Bond says, his vision red at the edges. And knowing that 007 had been in danger is not going to sway Q's feelings about it, either. He has been entirely honest with James. He doesn't care a whit what happens on a mission. That is his job, he's good at it and Q understands what things might need to be done. All he asks is that before he comes into Q-branch, that the agent shower and wash off any of the scents of the mission. That's all he wants, and he thought it was a pretty simple request. So for it to be forgotten or ignored tells him exactly what Bond's priorities are.

In the back of the car on the way back to his flat, Q drifts in an out of consciousness. He told James the truth that he really hadn't thought about the agent a whole lot. He didn't fret over him or anything during the last few days. Sure, he missed him, quite a bit actually, and the more he thinks about it, the more he starts to get a little depressed about it. Q did not obsess however. And before he knows it he's at his flat, thanking the driver and then going inside, sighing as he closes the door behind him. He's still tired, and he looks at the messy state of his flat again, grumbling as he at least bothers to put in a load of laundry before he changes into some pajamas and washes up. He's just about to lay down and pass out again when there's a knock on the door and he groans, knowing exactly who it's going to be.

Not able to resist however, Q drags his feet back to the door and opens it slowly, giving the agent one look before he turns and starts to trudge back toward his bedroom, not even bothering to say anything.

Seeing how tired Q obviously is, James lets himself into the flat, and locks the door behind him. He's freshly showered, bandaged, and in fresh clothes as well, his hair still a little damp from it. Silently, he looks around the flat, seeing the signs that it's been neglected. Bond leaves his shoes by the door, and starts to remove the rest of his clothing, getting down to his sweatpants and t-shirt which is all he had at MI6, heading back to the bedroom where he knows Q is.

Seeing the man's slim form, face down on the bed, Bond shakes his head a little, moving over to cover him with the blankets and then slip into bed beside him. "Better?" He asks as he puts one arm around the man's waist and pulls him close.

Too tired and worn out to resist, Q turns a little toward James and curls up against his chest, taking a deep breath against his neck and nuzzling it a little. "Yes.. much better..." he says sleepily, arms sliding around the agent's waist as he curls up into the warmth of the older man's body. He feels so vulnerable right now, so needy, he can't really help his actions in his sleepy state. "I did miss you. Just.. didn't think about it." He mumbles sleepily.

"I understand, Q. I missed you as well. To be honest, I couldn't wait to get that woman out of my bed." Bond says quietly as he nuzzles into Q's hair and kisses his head softly, pulling the covers up around both of them, "We can talk some more in the morning.." He murmurs, but there is one thing he can't resist doing. Gently, he pulls back a little, and tilts Q's head up, leaning down to give him a slow, lazy and surprisingly chaste kiss. "Sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up, Q." he reassures in a soft tone, placing one more soft kiss against those tempting lips before he straightens and pulls the younger man against him.

A small, pleased whine is given at the kiss, and Q sighs a little when it's over. A small smile crosses his lips and he smiles. "Good to know.." he mumbles before he snuggles back against the agent and closes his eyes, enjoying the scent of the Alpha as he relaxes and finally drifts off into a deep sleep, the best he's had since Bond left.

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**Sorry about the delay, I finally succumbed to the sick that has been going around where I live, and I haven't done quite as much writing as I hoped during my vacation. Too many other things to do. Darnit, real life. Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Bond really must be more conscious of things. But be prepared for some drama as well. This is Bond and Q afterall, nothing is smooth in their life. :)**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	11. Chapter 11

The best laid plans...

It turns out that the morning talk doesn't get the opportunity to happen, as the two are called in because of a high priority mission. When they arrive together at MI6, they don't even get much of an opportunity to do more than get to the correct floor and step off the elevator before Tanner intercepts them.

"Ah. 007, Q, good." Tanner says as he looks between them. "Bond, M wants to see you in his office right away, I'll take you there myself." He says before he turns to Q, "Here is the information that you'll need on Bond's mission, in order to outfit him properly. You'll be coordinating ground support and providing backup on this one as well." The shorter man says as he hands a packet of papers off to the boffin.

Curious, Q takes the envelope that no doubt has a folder inside giving some brief information on what the mission will be. Looking up at Tanner, he then nods a little. "Well, then. Good day, Tanner. Bond, I expect I'll be seeing you later. I'll be sure to have everything ready for you." He says as he holds up the envelope, then tucks it beneath his arm before he turns smartly and heads off toward his office.

Only able to glance between the two for a moment, Bond sighs and nods as he runs a hand over his hair, then he looks back at Tanner. "No rest for the wicked, it would seem." He notes before he nods a little. "We'd best be off." Before he turns in the direction of M's office, but not before giving one last glance back at Q's retreating back.

When Q enters his domain he notices that everyone is in their place, R coordinating something at the front of the room. "Good morning, R, you're in early." He observes as he watches the woman who is his second in command.

"Good morning, sir." R says pleasantly with a small smile as she glances over at her boss. "A double-oh mission? The office has been all in a buzz about something going on over near Istanbul, but it's all very hush-hush." She sighs a little in annoyance since she always feels like she's left out of the good stuff if Q isn't around.

"I just got here, so I haven't even had a chance to review it. Ran into Tanner on the way here. Anything I need to know about last night or this morning?" He asks as he looks around, then he smiles at R when she presents him with his scrabble mug full of Earl Grey that she apparently had already gotten ready. "I knew there was a reason I chose you." he notes with a little smirk at her.

Laughing a little, R picks up her own take out cup of latte she always gets from the cafe down the street before she responds. "Nothing we couldn't handle, sir. We've got everything sorted here. There are a few things from R&amp;D on your desk that need your approval to go forward. We have three agents on their way back from the field, one in a holding pattern and one is, well, last time I checked, he was rather enjoying himself." She says with a little bit of a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a small smile as she brings the cup to her lips to take a drink.

Q takes a hesitant sip of his tea, not sure how warm it is, before he looks at R and smiles. "I worry sometimes that you enjoy being a voyeur too much, R." He says before he smiles. "Well, I believe I shall be in my office this morning, then." he says with a small nod of his head before he walks to his desk in his office, cleaning some things up from the night before before he settles down to read the file.

The file is fairly straight forward but it does mean some listening devices and other equipment that are not usually given to double-ohs because they have a penchant for breaking such things. After gathering what he can from his office, Q stretches after standing up, and he steps out, "I'm going down to storage to get a few things, R. You can call or contact me on comms if you need me." He says, tapping the earpiece he has in and normally always wears around MI6, patting his pocket to make sure he has his cellphone as well before he exits.

It's early enough that everything is still relatively quiet, and Q greets a few people as he walks down the hallway to the elevator, people that are just now arriving at work. "One of these days, I will consolidate this into one area of MI6." He mutters as he takes the elevator down two levels to where a lot of the weapon and tech storage is. Even through the sound proofed walls, a few small pops can be heard from the firing ranges that are shared by the R&amp;D folks and agents alike. There are many fond memories for Q in this part of the building. He remembers when he was R and he had more freedom to tinker around, work with computers or purely create, rather than having to worry about the bureaucratic nonsense that he has to deal with now. Shaking his head, he unlocks the room that he was looking for, wandering down an aisle of shelving searching for the item he was looking for, making a somewhat triumphant sound when he finds it.

However, when he turns back toward the door with a case in either hand, there's a man standing there who had apparently been watching him for some time. And it is rather stupid of him to not have been aware of it, Q concedes, realizing that he had let himself get far too lost in his thoughts.

"009, you're not authorized to be in here." Q says coolly as he recognizes the agent, walking toward him confidently. "I suggest you leave." he points out as he looks at the man who appears to only be a few years older than him, but who is obviously stronger if the breadth of his chest and shoulders is any indication.

The man just smiles, relaxed as he leans against the door frame. "You're such a stickler for rules, Q.. I was just enjoying watching you work. I saw you when I was coming out of the firing range, and I was going to point out that you needed to be careful when going into restricted areas to make sure no one followed you like I did, but.. well.. you looked so darn adorable, all focused and stuff." He says with a little smirk, looking Q over slowly in an appreciative fashion before he lets out a little sigh. "Honestly, I haven't even seen you for a month or more, since I've been away on a mission. And you're always so cold.." He nearly pouts as he watches the younger man.

By now, Q is convinced that flirting is pathological for double-ohs, whether they're male or female and it no longer phases him, at least not coming from a pathetic Alpha like the one in front of him. Yes, it's very easy for Q to tell that 009 is a pup still wet behind the ears when compared to Bond, but he knows that even the smallest dogs can have nasty bites. Sighing a little, he pushes his glasses up on his nose before he looks at the agent before him. "Point well made, 009. I do hope your mission went well and you brought your equipment back in one piece. However, you are not authorized to be in this area, I'm going to have to insist that you leave." He adds in a more authoritative tone, even though he's starting to get nervous.

009 just sighs but he steps outside of the room. "You should know that I'm determined to crack that shell of yours, Q." he says, waiting for the younger man to come out before leaning toward him, intent on saying something in his ear before he catches Bond's scent on the boffin, and he straightens quickly with a frown. "Why do you smell like Bond?" He asks in a more aggressive tone, reaching out and yanking Q's collar aside to see if he's been marked.

And this just became a dangerous situation, Q muses to himself, before he jerks away from the hand on his collar. "Unhand me, 009. Contain your hormones." He snaps before he straightens his collar. "What or who I smell like is frankly none of your business." He says before he makes sure the storage room door is closed behind him and he turns to head back toward the elevator, hoping to put an end to the incident.

For the moment it seems that 009 is chastised enough because he remains behind, watching the Quartermaster go, crossing his arms over his chest as he glowers in the younger man's general direction. "Why is it always Bond?" he grumbles darkly before he turns and heads back to the firing range, finding he has some more aggression to work out.

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**Spring is here! Sorry for the lag between posts again. I didn't forget, I promise! I hope you enjoy this slightly foreboding chapter. :) Enjoy!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Just a little forewarning without spoilers: This is a more intense chapter with violence. So please be warned if any of that makes you uncomfortable, etc. Thanks!**

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It takes Bond a little longer than expected to finish his mission, and it's evening before he gets back to London and MI6. He thinks that he knows where his Omega will be, though, if he knows Q at all, so his first stop is Q-branch. It's starting to empty out, everyone rushing here and there to get things finished so they can leave for the weekend. A crash from Q's office draws his attention however, as well as a few others but the minions look startled and maybe a little afraid.

Fear is not the feeling that rushes through 007 when he hears that sound, besides perhaps fear of his worst nightmare coming through. With purpose, he walks toward the office and comes in to see a scene that has haunted his night since he talked to R the previous day.

009 has the young boffin backed into a corner, shirt having been apparently torn open and pulled down to effectively bind his hands, but his tie has been tightened around his neck and pulled upwards, the end still wrapped around the double-oh's hand. Q is obviously having trouble breathing and looks a little dazed, a bruise blooming over the side of his face.

With a growl at being interrupted, 009 turns to see who the intruder is, only more angry apparently at seeing the older agent. He lowers his hand holding the tie which allows Q to breathe a little easier, but he doesn't let it go, turning it into a kind of leash. "You can't have him, he's mine now." He declares possessively as he glares at 007.

There really is only one response that comes to Bond's mind when he sees Q in such a state at the hands of another agent. Pulling out his Walther he doesn't even think before he aims and shoots 009 in the shoulder, effectively making him release Q's tie altogether. "Leave now and keep your life. Touch Q again, I will kill you." He says in a firm tone as he glares at the agent, knowing that how he aimed, even if he went straight to medical there will be a good chance that he won't be able to continue as a double-oh, even if his crime weren't severe enough to make him lose his job. And he doesn't have even a little bit of remorse.

Keeping his gun aimed at 009, Bond circles around to put himself between Q and the other. Of course, the gunshot brings some attention and after a bit of buzz a few guys from security come in, taking in the situation before they take 009 out toward medical.

"Bloody hell, Bond. I can guess what happened, but we'll need a report tomorrow. Perhaps you'd better take Q home." Tanner says, having been on the way to try and find Bond when he saw security rushing this way, so he merely nods to the older agent before he ushers everyone out of the room.

Putting his gun away once everyone leaves, Bond turns quickly to look at Q, getting the tie off of him and pulling his shirt up to release him and cover him as well. It's only then that the younger man seems to collapse, but James is there to catch him. "Shh.. You're safe now.. I'm right here." He says as he gets Q over to the couch, sitting and pulling the younger man into his lap, looking at his neck carefully and stroking over it slowly as he pulls Q's head down to his own shoulder. For the first time - with Q at least - Bond uses his Alpha scent to his advantage to try and calm the young boffin down, being able to feel his body start shaking as the shock settles in.

The close call doesn't really settle in for a few minutes, but when it does, Q does start to shake, but he also wraps his arms around Bond, urgently moving close to him. A small whimpering starts in his throat as he buries his face in the agent's neck, not caring if his glasses are biting into the other man's skin, not caring about anything other than being close to his Alpha. For once he admits to himself that Bond definitely is that to Q. James is HIS Alpha, now more than ever, and all he wants is to forget what happened in the last half an hour or so, forget anything other than the man holding him.

"It'll be alright, Q... I promise. Let's get you home, alright?" he says quietly as he kisses the side of Q's head, stroking his hair, rubbing his back and otherwise just trying to touch him comfortingly. Knowing that they need to leave though, he gently gets up and sets the young man on his feet, keeping an arm around him as Bond helps him over to get his coat and get him into it, buttoning it for him as he might a child, but he's been around long enough to know that Q might not be ready to take care of himself just yet. Not that he can ever really take care of himself alone, but that's a matter for another day.

When they step out of the office, what few minions are left seem concerned but they know to keep quiet and stay out of the way. They don't get any resistance on the way out in fact, the double-oh's car waiting for them with Tanner ready to hand over the keys with a small nod of his head to the two before he disappears. When they get to the apartment, Bond brings Q back to the bedroom after getting his jacket off of him. "Come on.. let's get you a bath.." he says gently as he starts to undress Q slowly, getting him down to his boxers before leading him back to the bathroom, not wanting to leave him just yet.

Getting out of his own shoes and socks, and rolling up his sleeves, Bond turns toward Q while the tub is filling, putting a hand against his cheek gently. "I'm not going anywhere tonight, or anytime soon, alright? I'll make M understand if he doesn't." He reassures in a soothing tone, noticing that there is a ring of light bruising forming around the young man's neck where the tie was. "Tell me what happened.." He coaxes gently.

Q takes a deep breath, leaning into the touch and stepping forward to put his arms around Bond's waist, pressing his face into the older man's shoulder, hiding his face but also using the scent to keep him calm. "009 has been bothering me since you left.. coming to Q-branch at the worst possible times and demanding my attention. I've been able to deal with him, avoid being alone with him... but he cornered me in my office, demanding that I give him attention or time, or become his Omega. I refused of course, told him to get out, threatened him.. He hit me, and everything went a little fuzzy from there..." He says honestly, the hit to the head having dazed him and everything else having happened almost too fast for his brain to register everything.

Holding Q close against him, Bond nods a little and strokes his bare back slowly. "It's alright.. I'm sorry, I knew he had some interest in you, but I had always managed to dissuade him.." He says quietly, shaking his head for a few moments, pulling away gently to turn the water off. "Come on.. in you go." he says with a nod to the tub.

Slipping out of his boxers and not thinking much about it, Q steps into the tub, pulling his knees to his chest and putting his chin on them. "I think I'll take tomorrow off.." He mumbles softly having no desire to go into work at the moment.

Smiling a little, James nods quietly as he strokes back Q's hair on the side gently. "I'd say you deserve a few days off.." he reassures with a little smile. "Ah. I'll be right back. Brought you something." He says with a small smile, kissing the top of his head before he goes out and comes back after a minute with a box. "I know it's not the same, but.." He trails off and shrugs a little.

It's with great self-control that Q does not freak out when Bond leaves, reminding himself that the older man said he would be right back. A little confused by the box though, the young man adjusts his glasses, getting them wet in the process before he gives up and takes them off to put them aside, then reaches out to take the box, carefully keeping it away from the water as he opens it. Pulling out the contents, he stares for a moment, bringing the white ceramic mug closer to his face to be able to see it. Not that he can't see it from farther away, but he kind of doesn't believe it. Staring at it a little, he can't help but smile softly at the thoughtfulness of the man next to him. "A replacement Scrabble mug..?" He seems a little surprised, tone going up at the end in an almost questioning way.

"Mm. R told me what happened when she was giving me a mission update." Bond muses as he looks at Q. "Surprised I found the bloody thing so easily." He says as he sits down beside the tub, on the floor, and tosses the box aside so it doesn't get in the water.

"Thank you, James.." Q says softly, smiling softly, carefully setting the mug on a little table at the foot of the tub before he sits back and sinks down slightly so he's almost completely covered by the water.

Reaching into the water to take one of Q's hands in his, James lifts it gently and kisses the back of it tenderly. "You're very welcome, Q. I know how much it meant to you." He reassures gently as he looks at the younger man, having no regrets about ruining a man's shoulder in protection of his Omega. He knows now is not the appropriate time to ask about formalizing their relationship, but it is at the forefront of his mind, especially after today.

Q shifts a little in the water, squeezing Bond's hand gently and giving a small yawn. "I think I could use a drink.. I should have something in one of the cabinets.." he notes as he looks over at Bond hopefully.

"Alright.. I'll go find something.." Bond says with a small nod, releasing his hand gently after giving it a parting squeeze before he stands stiffly and heads to the kitchen, finding some whiskey, bringing the bottle and two glasses back. "Don't fall asleep yet, Q.." He says as he sees the young man almost drifting off, pouring them both drinks and handing one to Q, clinking their glasses together but not offering a toast, not thinking of anything appropriate.

Opening his eyes slowly and looking at Bond, Q nods a little as he takes the glass. "Wouldn't be good to fall asleep in a bath." He muses thoughtfully before he takes a drink out of the glass, wincing a little at the burn. "You'll stay tonight?" he asks just to confirm, sounding hopeful as he looks at Bond.

With a small smile after taking another drink out of his glass, Bond nods a little as he looks into the green eyes of the younger man. He thinks of something before he speaks, deciding to take a leap. "Yes, Q. I won't leave you tonight. I'll stay every night if you want."

Q has a somewhat dreamy smile on his face, the adrenaline gone, leaving him sleepy, warm in the water and the warmth of the alcohol in his stomach. "Every night.. every night you're home.. That would be nice."

* * *

**SORRY. So sorry! It's been 27 days since I posted, and I did not realize it had been so long. I've struggled with this chapter, going back and forth about how descriptive I want to be, or what direction I want to take it. And in truth, I have been a bit blocked. I finally came up with this, and I hope that you enjoyed it. I've not written much like this before, so I am stretching out of my comfort zone. :) Thanks to everyone who waited, I will try and do better for the future. As long as life lets me. :) I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	13. Chapter 13

The morning after the attack, James is awake first, though that isn't a big surprise. He's used to being up early, even if his body is used to a different time zone. After the bath, he had helped Q get out and dried off, led him back to bed. He would have preferred the younger man stay nude, but unfortunately he was still too shy for something like that, insisting on putting on boxers, though at least he was willing to go shirtless. It comforted Bond, who also slept in his boxers, to have the skin to skin contact with the Omega. Now, he watches the soft rise and fall of the smaller man's chest, listening to his steady breathing before he slowly starts to extricate himself from the bed.

Even if he wanted to stay in bed and watch Q sleep, there were a few things that Bond needed to do, and after a brief trip to the loo, he picks up his cellphone, texting M and Tanner to let them know Q had decided to take a few days off in the aftermath of the attack. The bruises around the boffin's neck had gotten darker overnight and Bond knew from experience that they would be quite painful for a day or two. After that is done, and after checking to make sure that the brunette is still sleeping, he heads out to the kitchen to start some coffee for himself and get some water boiling so he could make some tea whenever Q decided to wake up.

With that accomplished, he then starts some breakfast. James knows that he should let Q sleep, but he also knows there is a good chance the other man did not eat dinner last night and after everything he knows they both need to eat. One of his most basic instincts as an Alpha is to provide and care for his Omega afterall. And while Q may not be officially his yet, he knows that is more a matter of timing and formality. They have overcome every issue and now the agent has been invited to stay the night every night with Q. If that wasn't an acceptance of him as the younger man's Alpha, he doesn't know what is.

Wanting something quick but nutritious, Bond starts to make what his mother once referred to as eggy in a basket, cutting out the center of a few slices of bread, buttering it before dropping it in a pan, and cracking an egg into the middle of it. In another pan he starts bacon, keeping an eye on everything and glad that at lest Q had some groceries in the place.

When Q starts to wake up, at first he just nuzzles into the pillow, taking in Bond's scent until his mind reluctantly points out to him that while he may be able to smell the older man, there is no hint of his actual presence in the bed. With a stab of fear going through him, Q sits up quickly with a little gasp, looking around fearfully before he hears movement in the kitchen which makes him relax slowly. He wasn't alone, he wasn't abandoned. On the contrary, it appears that he's being.. cared for. If the smell that reaches his nose is any indication, and the rowlf rom his stomach says that it would be very welcome.

Slowly, he lifts one hand to touch his throat where there is some pain when he swallows, wincing a little as he feels some of the bruising there. Carefully getting to his feet, he pulls on a t-shirt and his glasses before he heads toward the kitchen.

With a fuzzy head, wild bedhead and still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, the boffin rounds the corner to see Bond at the stove cooking, the sight making him smile a little despite everything that is going on. He hasn't tried to be silent, and Q assumes that the agent must know that he's there, so he just walks over to the other man and snakes his thin arms around the firm torso of his Alpha, nuzzling into his bare back a little. "Morning.. you should have put a shirt on, wouldn't want you getting grease burns from that bacon.." He says quietly, turning his head to rub his slightly stubbly skin against the toned back of the agent.

Bond smiles a little, hearing Q getting up but not wanting to smother him, not sure what mood he might be in. Besides, he doesn't want to burn the food so he stays put, smiling a little and putting a hand over Q's arms when he comes close. "Good morning. A bit of grease won't hurt, Q. Besides, the only shirt I have is hardly suited to cooking either." He reminds the younger man with a small smile, sighing a little at the affection and shifting to turn around and face Q. Slowly, he brings one calloused hand up to stroke Q's cheek, cupping it gently as he looks down into the man's green eyes. Slowly, he leans down and places a tender kiss on the Omega's lips, letting it linger before he lifts his head. "How are you feeling?" He asks in a quieter tone, shifting to take the bread and egg out of the pan, and the last piece of bacon before he shuts the stove off so he can devote his full attention to the man in front of him.

The kiss is lovely and when it ends, Q sighs a little. Part of him just wants to burrow into the Alpha's arms, hide there and not answer the question, but he knows that the agent won't just go away. Even if Q showed him how vulnerable he's feeling right now. He has worked too hard on his professional image, and wanting to be independent in some respects for it to totally disappear just because of one incident. So instead of hiding, he straightens a little, licks his lips and nodding. "My throat hurts a bit and I am bloody starving." He decides as he looks at the agent, then slowly looks over at the food.

Deciding that food should come first, Bond nods, not able to resist placing one more kiss on Q's lips, before he pulls away and makes up plates for both of them, putting them on the table. "Sit." He says to Q, before he goes to get some juice and coffee for him, juice and Earl Grey for Q.

Both hating and loving Bond's bossiness, Q sits down, picking up his utensils. "Thank you." He says when the tea is put down in front of him, and he eats slowly and carefully, swallowing a little painful from the bruises. He doesn't want to let it get to him however, because he knows that Bond could easily use this as a reason, or an excuse, as to why he should not be working around double-ohs.

"I've already told M that neither of us will be in for a few days, and I emailed Tanner as to what happened last night." Bond says as he sits down and looks across the table at Q, trying to judge his mood and if what he said last night was serious or just the heat of the moment.

"Right. Good." Q says as he looks down at his food, before he looks up at Bond and blushes at the intense look he is getting from those ice blue eyes, before he looks back down at his food. "Thank you again. If 009 had forced me into being his Omega-"

"I would have killed him to free you from it." James interrupts in a fierce tone, a slight growl behind his words as he thinks about another Alpha – any other Alpha – forcing himself on Q. Slowly, he takes a deep breath and calms himself, before he decides to approach the matter at hand. "Others aren't going to stop trying to get you to be yours, Q. They may not all be as aggressive as 009, but until you have another Alpha's scent on you, until you're Marked, they won't stop trying." he says slowly as he looks at Q, wanting to be careful because the other man has just been through a trauma, but at the same time they need to come to a decision.

Nodding a little, Q looks up into the piercing blue eyes of the agent in front of him, taking a deep breath before lifting his hand to adjust his classes. "I understand, James." he says quietly, dropping his gaze to finish up his food before he slowly looks back up, shivering slightly at the possessive look that the agent is giving him. "You are my Alpha, Bond. I know that more than ever now. When 009 cornered me, the first thing that I thought was how to contact you, that maybe you would come running the way you always did." He says with a soft smile and a rueful shake of his head. "Even though I knew it was impossible, my first thought was of you. That makes it pretty clear the truth of things. No matter how either one of us wants to deny it." He says simply with a small, slightly amused smile as he watches the agent.

James has to use every bit of willpower not to launch himself across the table at Q when he finally acknowledges that he belongs to the Alpha. Instead, he grips the edge of the table to ground himself, trying to pay attention to the words being spoken and not the primal response of his body. Slowly, he leans back in his chair, finishing the last of his coffee as he tries to appear relaxed and at ease. "Well, then. The only question remains is whether you want to wait until your next Heat for me to mark you." He says with a silent arch of an eyebrow, silently praying that the brunette doesn't want to wait. After yesterday's incident, he wants his mark and his scent on Q so everyone knows who he belongs to.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Q watches James across the table, eyes sliding down over his bare chest, lingering on small scars here or there, but otherwise letting himself blatantly admire Bond for a few moments, before his eyes rise to meet his normally cool gaze. "I don't want to wait." He says in a low tone, his voice taking on a slightly husky quality. Slowly and deliberately, he gets up, walking slowly toward the back bedroom, pulling his shirt off as he goes to make his intentions quite clear.

Once again, James has to restrain himself, a small rumble in his throat as he watches Q walking away from him. A small glance around the kitchen is given to make sure that nothing is going to catch fire or something like that to distract them before he gets up and follows the boffin into the bedroom, his stance nothing short of predatory as he stands in the doorway of the bedroom.

Q had already made it to the bed, laying on his back, looking small and vulnerable. Their eyes meet across the room and Q tilts his head to the side a little, deliberately exposing more of his neck and shoulder as he maintains eye contact with Bond.

Licking his lips slowly, James smiles softly as he walks over to the bed, sitting on the edge and reaching out to pull Q up and into his arms, nuzzling along his neck and shoulder before he gives the Omega a searing kiss, his hand tangling in the brunette curls to hold him still. After pulling back a little, he looks into Q's eyes. "I am going to mark you, and then I am going to keep you in this bloody bed all day, make sure no one can mistake who you belong to. Good thing you don't have to go back to the office, because you are not going to be able to walk straight." He growls a little, using his hold on Q's hair to tilt his head to the side again to expose his neck.

A sharp intake of breath is the only indication that Q heard him for a moment, looking rather dazed after the kiss. "Do it, Bond." He finally says, swallowing hard, his back arching as he feels the agent's teeth sinking into his skin, his world becoming a blur of pleasure that he will try and untangle later.

* * *

**I'm sorry that this took a ridiculously long time for me to get back to this story. I got stuck, and then some bad stuff happened in my real life and it just fell to the wayside. But hopefully I can pick it back up again, or at the very least wrap it up. But I won't abandon it! That I promise. I have never abandoned any of my stories, and I am not about to start now, I know as a reader how frustrating that is. Hopefully I can get back to a somewhat normal schedule now that things have settled down a bit. Thank you to anyone who has stuck with it and is still reading this!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	14. Chapter 14

It's not until much later that night that Q comes to consciousness, and he groans slightly as he wakes up, looking at the clock and realizing it's midnight. Sitting up gingerly, he runs a hand through his hair which is quite a mess. He lifts one hand to touch the mate-mark on his shoulder, blushing a little as he recalls some of the last few hours, before he slowly gets up. It takes a moment for him to get his balance before he walks toward the bathroom.

James was not in bed, but the mate mark and the slight bond that goes along with it at least lets Q know that his Alpha has not left the apartment. Probably just woke up and was hungry or something, he muses to himself, since his own stomach is growling as he turns on the shower, hoping that the hot water will make some of his minor aches go away. In a way, he feels like he just ran a marathon, or just got over a bad flu or cold, the way his muscles hurt. But there are no regrets for the young boffin, in fact he's rather overjoyed with the whole situation.

After a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Q pulls on a soft t-shirt and pajama pants, slips on his glasses and then walks slowly out into the main room. "How long have you been up?" He asks as he sees Bond sitting on the couch watching the tellie, the volume low so that he presumably won't wake the younger man.

Looking up, James smiles a little, only having pulled on some pants, but from the look and smell of him, he showered earlier when he got up as well. "A few hours. How do you feel?" he asks, reaching out his hand toward Q and beckoning him over with a slight flick of his fingers.

Before giving in to James' request, Q goes to get a bottle of water and a pastry, then he turns to head back to the couch. "Sore." He says with a little shrug, settling down beside Bond carefully, propping his long legs up on the coffee table before he starts to eat as he leans slightly into the agent.

"I'd say I was sorry, but that would be lying." Bond says with a small smirk, even his tone showing how satisfied he is with the current situation. Adjusting his position a little, he puts one arm around Q's shoulder, turning his head to nuzzle into the side of his head for a moment. "Mmm. Your scent has changed." He says quietly, sounding pleased with this. Now no other Alpha will bother Q, or if they do, they will know exactly who they'll be dealing with, and it will not be pretty. It's one thing to harass Q when they all thought he was unattached, quite a different thing to do once he's claimed.

Rolling his eyes for a moment, Q swallows the bit of pastry in his mouth before he looks up at his Alpha. "Somehow, that does not surprise me..." he says but he smiles a little, because truth be told, he doesn't mind it so much himself. "We'll have to tell M, have our status changed. I hope it doesn't affect what missions he sends you on. There's really no need for anything to change. Except it would be even more devastating for me now if anything were to happen to you." He admits, swallowing hard past the lump in his throat that formed just thinking about that possibility.

"Nothing will happen to me, Q. Well, nothing serious. I'll do whatever I can to complete my missions, but I have a feeling I will be taking considerably less unnecessary risks. Since now I have something to live for and something to come home to." James says quietly, squeezing Q gently for a moment before he reaches out and steal a chunk off the pastry Q has been eating, licking his fingers off after popping it into his own mouth.

"Good. Because if you do something stupid, you will be answering to me. Professionally and personally. I am still head of Q-branch afterall, and that's a good thing because I don't think I could stand to be on the sidelines while you were putting yourself in danger, without knowing at least a little of what you were doing out there." The young brunette says thoughtfully as he looks down at the pastry, quickly finishing it so that it can't be stolen, drinking most of the rest of his water before he offers the bottle to James, knowing that both of them are probably dehydrated.

"I understand, Q." Bond says quietly as he looks at his Omega quietly, kissing the side of his head before he takes the bottle and finishes off the water inside. "We really should order a proper meal, I had a bit to eat earlier, but it was hardly enough." He says before he reaches over and picks his cellphone up off the side table and holds it out to Q. He doesn't know the good places to order in this area,but he has a feeling his boffin will know all the best places.

"Oh, there's a lovely Thai place that's open late." Q says before he takes the phone and dials the number, sitting up a little more properly so he can order. Apparently rather familiar with the menu, he place the order without asking any questions, finally hanging up. Just then it occurs to him to look at Bond. "Do you have any cash on you?" With wide eyes, since he only then realized that he doesn't have enough to cover the food.

Laughing a little at how scatter brained Q can be in his personal life when he is so in control in his professional life, the agent nods a little and grins. "Yeah, I've got a bit of cash in my wallet. Which I think is in the bedroom." He muses before he removes his arm from around Q and stands. Several pops come from his shoulders and back as he stretches, before he walks over to the kitchen to start some coffee and tea. "Why don't you find something to watch? I swear, with as many channels as you have, there isn't anything good on."

A small wince comes from Q as he hears the pops, then he shakes his head for a few moments and snorts. "You obviously don't know what good television is." He says before he digs around and finds the remote, sitting back to get comfortable again as he starts to flip channels. "Oh.. I forgot, there's some aspirin in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom."

Taking that as a hint to go get them, James retrieves the aspirin and his wallet while he's at it, before he returns to give Q his tea and aspirin, then returns to the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. "Find anything to watch yet?" He asks curiously as he steps back to the couch to glance at the TV.

"I found a classic television show for us to watch." Q offers as he looks at Bond, taking his aspirin before he motions to the TV. "Doctor Who." he says with a little smirk, seeming quite satisfied with his selection.

"Bloody hell. Really, Q?" Bond asks in exasperation, but he's saved from any other comments when there's a knock at the door. He just retrieves his wallet and walks over to the door, paying for the food before he brings it back to the couch to unpack it all onto the coffee table. While he may not approve of the choice, he does know that his Omega seems happy, and that is enough to satisfy him and let him suffer through it.

"Yes, really." Q says with a small pout, before he sits up and reaches out for some of the food, grabbing utensils before he starts to eat as the show plays almost in the background. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating, then his stomach lets out a rather loud grumble which makes him blush a little and glance at Bond self-consciously.

Chuckling a little at the boffin's eagerness, James picks up some food and starts to eat as well."Good thing we ordered, it sounds as if your stomach is about to start eating itself." He teases as he continues to eat, leaning back on the couch. Though he watches Q more than he watches the TV, he feels almost content for the first time in his life. He still feels the slight restlessness that comes from his life as a double-oh, but the darkness that tries to consume him during his down time, is contained for now.

"What are you staring at, Bond?" Q asks, maybe being a little irritable and pouty about being stared at and teased, but he's trying to keep his composure, staring down at his food for something to distract himself with.

Considering the question as he eats a few more bites, James looks at the younger man carefully for a few moments. "I'm.. content. For the first time I can remember." He says as he looks at Q. "It just surprised me." He says with a slight shrug and a little smile, leaning forward to place a sweet kiss on Q's lips.

"Well, that is supposed to happen to Alpha's once they claim an Omega. Don't worry, I don't expect you to settle down anytime soon. You wouldn't be the man, the Alpha, that I fell for, if you weren't a double-oh." Q says with amusement before he looks down at his plate again, settling back. "Now quiet, the show's back on." He says firmly.

Deciding that he does not want to fight so soon. Bond does as he's bid and sits back quietly to watch the show, finishing their meal while he thinks about the next day and what they will have to face once they get back to headquarters.

* * *

**Just a cute little aftermath scene before they get back to work! Hopefully the drama will be settled. Thank you for everyone who is still reading, I hope you enjoy this!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

Returning to work after two rather eventful days is stressful. It doesn't help that Q's normal outfit of a button-up shirt, tie, and jumper rubs against the mark that 007 put on him, in a slightly uncomfortable way. And yet he likes it, even the discomfort, like a constant reminder of his Alpha.

Speaking of of Alpha's, Q glances over at Bond for a moment. They had a slight argument this morning about whether or the boffin needed an escort into Q-branch this morning. But ultimately, Q lost the argument, after Bond used what he is sure was some sort of dominance trick. Or it could just be the agent used the fact that he is damned sexy to weaken the younger man's defenses. Either way, Q is a little annoyed over it, and said very little on the way into work. Stepping into Q-branch, into his domain, he can tell that it doesn't take long for people to figure out what happened, at least for those who are sensitive to such things.

More of his minions than normal avoid looking him in the eye or staring too long, suddenly very intent on their work. Once in his office, Q glances around for a few moments, pushing back any unhappy memories before he turns to look at Bond. "Very well, you've successfully escorted me to my office. Now, kindly bugger off." He says in a slightly annoyed tone as he takes off his jacket and hangs it up, adjusting his glasses for a moment.

With a small growl of frustration, Bond approaches when the brunette has his back to him, and when the younger man turns around, James pushes him back against the wall, pinning him there with his body. "I've had just about enough of your attitude this morning, Q." He says in a firm tone as he watches his Omega. "You are my Omega. More than that, you were assaulted in here two days ago. There was no way in hell I was going to let you come in here alone without letting everyone with eyes know that you're protected." He says in an angry tone, having to restrain himself quite a bit from kissing Q senseless. He wanted the younger man to understand, not give him more reasons to be angry with Bond.

It was difficult to stay angry with Bond standing so close, and his scent permeating Q's senses, but he just crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. "I don't need you physically staking your claim, Bond." For the last two days he had been referring to the older man exclusively as James, and now he wanted him to know just how upset Q was. "It's not as if anyone can mistake your claim on me, with your scent all over me and your mark on me." He points out. "I have a job to do, and if I let anyone think that a double-oh has rattled me enough that I need a bloody bodyguard, they will doubt my ability to run this department. Don't you understand that?" He asks as he looks up at Bond, frowning a little, but also pleading with the agent to understand.

Of course, James hadn't though of it that way, he just thought maybe Q was pushing him away or regretting his decision to become his Omega. Slowly, he relaxes, taking a deep breath and sighing as he tilts his head down to rest it lightly on Q's shoulder for a moment. He then straightens, moving away a little so he isn't trapping the younger man anymore. "I'm sorry, Q. I didn't think of it that way. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. When I think of what happened last time you were in this office.." he lets out a low growl at the very thought, lifting one hand to cup Q's cheek lightly, before glancing down at the fading yellow-green bruises around the younger man's neck that are just visible above the collar of his shirt.

Q relaxes with a little sigh now that he's gotten Bond to understand, and he even turns his cheek a little to nuzzle into James' palm. "I understand, James. You cannot be here to protect me every second of the day, though. You have a job to do, and so do I. We both knew this would be difficult, but you have to treat me as you always have, at least with a modicum of respect." He says firmly, putting his hand on Bond's wrist and giving it a little squeeze as he looks up into his icy gaze.

Nodding for a moment, James chuckles and then gives Q that easy going, playful smile that has melted the hearts of more than one target. But unlike with others, the smile is reflected in his eyes as he watches the younger man."Back to normal then, eh?" he asks, before he leans down to place a quick, searing kiss on Q's lips. "Almost." He murmurs close to the boffin's lips before he pulls back with a smirk. "See you at lunch, Q." he says with a small smile after taking a few steps toward the door. Putting one hand in his pocket, he smiles again before he exits into Q-branch, taking a moment to look around before he walks out with an easy gait.

~oOo~

When he reached the floor that M's office is on, Bond looks around for a few moments and approaches the desk of his favorite spy-turned-secretary. "Good morning, Moneypenny. You look particularly fetching this morning." He says with the easy flirtatiousness that he has always had with the woman.

"I don't think Q would like to know you're flirting with me, Bond." Eve says with amusement, knowing all the juicy details before most of the office, like always. "I heard you and Q finally got together, and that congratulations are in order. Though I could tell that by the smell of you." She says with a small laugh as she looks up at him. "And the fact that you look particularly self-satisfied this morning."

Shaking his head for a few moments, with a small smile on his face, Bond perches on the corner of Eve's desk before he smiles. "I highly doubt Q would see you as any sort of competition, Moneypenny." He reassures, before he adds, "Besides, my job is the same, so at some point he'll have to get used to me flirting with others. It's not like this changes my job as a double-oh. I do what I need to do to finish the mission, and come home."

Eve just smiles a little as she sit back in her chair, arms lightly resting on the rests of the chair. "Well, I'm glad to see that you've changed a little. You put coming home as a higher priority. It wasn't that long ago that you would have said you would do whatever you had to to finish the mission. Period. Whether or not you came home. So there's some improvement already it seems." She says before she smiles a little again. "Looks like I might have to go visit Q later on this morning and see what he thinks about this new development." For a moment she pauses before she continues. "I heard what happened with 009. Is Q really alright?"

"Yes, he's fine. Has a bit of a bruise around his neck, but it's already fading." Bond reassures more seriously as he thinks about it. "I figured Tanner or M would want me to make a report now that we're back at work. I haven't had a chance to look, has our status been updated in our files?" He asks, wanting to make sure neither of them can get into trouble because of a loophole. They did report the change to Tanner, but it was a text.

"Hm. Let me see." Eve says before she rolls up to her computer, manicured nails moving quickly over the keyboard as she pulls up the correct files, checking one before checking the other. "Yes, it says both of you are mated to the other." She reassures with a small smile. "I'm glad Q is alright, and I'm glad you got what you've wanted for months." There is amusement in her voice and in her gaze as she watches the agent. "Go on, Tanner did want to talk to you when you got in. Scuttle off now, and try to keep out of trouble!" She scolds as she watches the older agent start to walk off, shaking her head for a few moment in amusement before she goes back to work, trying to figure out when she might be able to slip away and see Q.

* * *

**Being Alpha/Omega does not necessarily solve all the problems. But under the circumstances, I don't think anyone can really blame Bond for his reaction. I hope you all enjoy this, and thank you for reading!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	16. Chapter 16

When it gets closer to lunch time, Eve heads down to Q-branch, having told a certain overprotective Alpha double-oh that she wanted to have time to chat with her friend, and that she would make sure he was alright. Knowing how backed up Q probably is with work, she brings lunch with her, smiling at R as she steps toward his office, finally pausing to give the door a light knock before she lets herself in.

At the moment, Q is bent over his desk with a few tools in hand, working on something small and delicate if his focus is anything to go by. The door opening draws his attention though, and he glances up, scrunching his nose to try and push his glasses up a little without releasing the tools in his hands. "Ah, Ms. Moneypenny. To what do I owe the pleasure this afternoon?" He asks before he turns his attention back to finishing up the soldering he was doing, then putting his tools and his project off to the side of his cluttered desk.

"I thought we could have lunch, have a little chat.." Eve shrugs a little and smiles. "It's been too long since we were able to talk, you know." She hums a little as she looks at his desk, shaking her head before she turns on her heel and walks over to the couch and sits down. "Plus, I promised Bond I would make sure that you had lunch."

Huffing a small laugh, Q stands up and stretches his arms above his head, a few vertebrae cracking as he rests his hands behind his head for a moment, then situates his glasses more properly on his nose. "I should have guessed he had something to do with it. He really does not need to be so overprotective, I am quite capable of taking care of myself." A small blush steals over his cheeks as he walks over to sit on the other end of the couch, looking at the food that comes out of Moneypenny's bag.

A knowing smile crosses Eve's face as she watches Q. It's obvious that despite what he might say, he does enjoy being taken care of. Or at least being taken care of by Bond. "Yes, well. It gave me a rather good excuse to come down here." She says with another private smile as she pushes a few containers toward Q. "I got your favorite from that little cafe down the street. The way I see it, you probably need a little pampering after the last few days."

Ducking his head a little, Q takes his time opening the containers before he is sure his cheeks have cooled down a bit. "If you are looking for details, I assure you there are none. And as I recall, any I might be able to give you would just reinforce what you already know about Bond." He gives Eve a pointed look, knowing exactly what happened between the two. "I do appreciate the thoughtfulness, however, thank you." He says as he picks up one of the containers and chopsticks and starts to eat.

Eve laughs lightly again, shaking her head. "Oh, trust me, I don't want details about THAT, Q. I am quite familiar with Bond's skill in that area, as you said. I was actually just going to ask if it hurt." She says with a small shrug. "I mean, I imagine it hurt at the time, but I wondered if the mark still hurt today."

A little self-consciously, the younger man lifts up his hand and puts it on his shoulder over the mark, which is entirely hidden by his shirt, but a little sore from the slightly coarse fabric rubbing over it all day. "It still has to heal, so it's a bit sore, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. And yes, it did hurt when it happened, but I was rather distracted at the time." Q muses with a slightly blissful look on his face as his eyes lose focus for a moment, then he shakes his head as he brings himself back to earth and goes back to his food.

"Blimey, you've got it bad, to look like that when you talk about it." Eve mused with a smirk before she started to eat her own food. "I hope you know I am very happy for you and Bond. Quite a few of us saw this coming, you know. There was even a betting pool to see when you two would get together. I'm not sure who won, I didn't bet myself. I thought that was a little crass." Sitting back on the couch to eat her food, she tilted her head to the side a little. "Do you think this will change anything? Bond's status hasn't been changed, he's still the best double-oh and will be going on all the same sort of missions."

Q had been thinking about just that for a few hours. He does realize that nothing much has changed, he always felt a little possessive over Bond, and never liked smelling women on him. That will only be increasing since things are a bit more formalized between the two. Still, he hesitates as he pokes his food a little with the chopsticks. "No, I don't think it will change anything. We both realize the jobs that we have to do. I may not be able to listen in when he is on a honeypot mission, but I will strive to continue doing my job without any changes when it regards Bond. I am still the best qualified to guide him through most missions." He points out as he looks up at the woman, smiling faintly. "Then again, I never did like it when Bond came back smelling like the last woman he had taken to bed. Whether it was part of a mission or not." Turning back to his food, he pokes at it a little more before he starts to eat in earnest, finding that he's more hungry than he thought he was.

The vulnerability on Q's face when he talks about honeypot missions and Bond coming back smelling like women wrenches Eve's heart, but she has been watching them for a while, and she realizes that things have been changing between them for a while. They both do their jobs like the professionals they are, but smaller things like Bond showering as soon as he gets back to headquarters, before he does anything else, have changed. Q has always walked Bond through things, but if it's a honeypot mission he shuts down the line to give the agent privacy unless he is contacted. Which is why anyone who pays attention to the two knew that they would get together eventually. It might also be why some of the other double-ohs, the Alpha's, had started to take more of an interest in Q over the last few months. They knew that the young man would be taken off the market soon unless they made a move and tried to get him for themselves. Not that any of them ever had a chance.

"Yes, I imagine if anyone could carry on as normal it would be you two." Moneypenny finally muses with a little smile. "Are you happy with the way things have turned out, Q? I know you were never especially keen on the idea of having an Alpha." She points out as she watches the younger man carefully.

For a few moments Q thinks about that question, then he smiles faintly as he meets Eve's eyes confidently. "Yes, Eve. I am very happy. I may not have been keen about having an Alpha because of the ones that I had previously met, but I'll let you in on a bit of a secret." He leans toward the woman a little with that same mysterious, calm smile on his lips. "I always longed for someone to look at me the way James does, to take care of me and look after me a bit. I admit, outside of work I am rubbish at it." Leaning back after a moment he smiles as he thinks about the changes in his flat since he's started spending more time with Bond, how much neater it is, because a part of him wanted to impress the older man.

Relaxing her shoulders a little, Eve tilted her head to the side before she put aside her food and leans over to pull Q into a firm hug, avoiding putting too much pressure on the top of his shoulder or his neck, but she pats him on the back gently for a few moments. "I'm so glad that everything turned out alright, Q." She whispered to him, her voice a little choked up with emotion before she sits back, smiling a little again. "And Congratulations."

The sudden show of affection from his usually very reserved friend pulls unexpected feelings to the surface for Q, and he frees one hand to hug her in return briefly, before he clears his throat. "Thank you, Eve." After an awkward moment or two, he finds some other line of conversation to pursue and it turns more comfortable as they fall into an easy camaraderie, chatting and eating. And if anyone thinks the almost watery smile that Eve has on her face as she leaves is anything unusual, they keep it to themselves. Quite a few of the Q-branch employees feel the same for their boss after all, exchanging knowing smiles before returning to their work.

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**Little bit of a filler chapter as I try and figure out what to have happen next. :) Plus, I love the idea of Q and Moneypenny being good friends. Maybe because they seem like such an unlikely pair. I hope you all enjoy this, and thank you for reading!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	17. Chapter 17

Events in the lives of double-ohs is never normal, but it only takes a few days for Q to fall into his new routine. They are given time to adjust, which means just for a few days, or a week at most, Bond is grounded and not allowed to go on missions, at least until M is sure that they can be separated safely without either one of them being affected by it. They appear to handle this quite nicely though, staying professional during the day, and only meeting for lunches or if Bond gets particularly bored, he goes to Q-branch to test out the prototype weapons for them, give the input of a real agent, as he puts it.

"It's still too heavy." Bond said one day while testing out a gun for Q at the range, looking down at it for a few moments. "And it's not weighted properly. It shoots straight at least, but otherwise it's rather unwieldy." He shrugs a little before he removes the ammunition from the gun and puts both pieces down.

Q sighs a little, running a hand through his hair. "Well, back to the drawing board, then." He says as he picks up the gun and turns it over in his hands to examine it, adjusting his glasses for a moment. "Well, it was just a prototype anyway. Thank you for your assistance in testing, Bond. Wouldn't want you to go out into the field with a substandard weapon." Finally packing the gun away in its case, the younger man lifts his eyes to the agent. "I will probably have to work late night, 002 is out on that mission in Brazil, and she may need my assistance tonight, since she is supposed to make contact with her target and slip our little bug onto his machine." He flutters his hand off in one direction when he talks about the bug, a slight smile on his lips.

"Not quite back to the drawing board, Q. It'll be a good gun once you fix the weight issue." Bond says with a small shrug, before he nods slowly. "Do you want me to stay around, or would you rather have a driver take you home?" He asks casually as he looks at his Omega, trying not to be overbearing, but it is hard for him, especially since he's used to being in control of every situation.

"I am quite capable of taking the Tube home, James." Q shakes his head a little, before he holds up a hand. "No need for you to wait around, I'll make sure someone can drive me." He reassures before he taps a few things on his tablet where he was recording notes and performance, before he starts to walk toward the door that leads back toward his office.

Bond smiles a little as he watches how absorbed in his work Q gets sometimes, before he picks up the case with the gun in it, putting it back in its cabinet before he follows the brunette out of the room. "A quiet night in it is, then. I'll see you tonight, then. Call me if you need anything." He buttons his jacket back up before he leans over to give Q a quick peck, smiling before he turns to walk off.

Sighing a little, Q watches the older man leave for a moment, admiring him before shaking himself and getting back to work. The night ends up being late because all does not go smoothly with 002's mission. By the time he gets back to the flat, he is very tired, finding Bond sitting on the couch waiting for him. "What is it with you double-ohs and getting yourselves into trouble? Can't you ever follow a bloody plan?" He grumbles, shedding shoes, jacket and cardigan on his way over. After loosening his tie and undoing the top button of his shirt, he lays down on the couch with his head in Bond's lap.

Chuckling a little as he puts his book aside, James lowers his hand to run his fingers through Q's curls, rubbing his scalp in a light massage. "Not everything goes smoothly in the field, Q. It's easy for you to see it all here, but much more difficult when you're in the middle of it. We're trained to work on instinct. And most of the time our instincts are right. Even if it's inconvenient for you." He points out, before he smirks a little. "Of course, when you're a young, new agent like 002, you tend to take more risks to prove yourself, or prove you don't need a babysitter."

"I am not a bloody babysitter!" Q objects, grumbling a little nonsensically for a moment. "I have to be in early tomorrow. There was some interesting and useful data that came back. The night shift is analyzing it, but I'll have to look it over in the morning. There's a good chance you'll be sent into the field for this one. It's bigger and more complicated than we thought. From what little I saw, it appears that we'll need a few agents to assist 002. And you are the best and one of the only ones available." He notes while he removes his glasses and sets them on the coffee table before turning his head to allow Bond easier access for his massage.

"Right. We'll drive in early, then, and I'll make sure my shots are up to date." Bond jokes lightly, rubbing Q's scalp as he runs his fingers through the man's hair, knowing the types of headaches he takes. "Come on, then. If we have to get up early we'd best get to bed. And I have no doubt you'll want one of those ridiculous coffee's from that place down the block, and breakfast from there as well." shaking his head good-naturedly, he helps Q sit up before he starts to undo the younger man's tie.

Groaning in objection at having to be vertical again, Q nods quietly. "You know me well, Bond.. and you spoil me. How am I supposed to keep my girlish figure if you keep feeding me sweets?" He jokes, waiting for his tie to be removed before he finally gets himself to his feet again.

James smiles a little. "It's my job to spoil you. Besides, you're a bit too thin as it is. It's worrisome." This is an old conversation so he leaves it at that, just leading him toward the bedroom so they can get some sleep.

Q is very good at what he does, so when he wakes up the next morning and finds that the organization they are going after is much bigger than originally planned – as he said – he is not surprised. Nor is he surprised when Tanner comes to his office just before noon with a folder of information.

"We're going to need Bond on this. Here's what we think he'll need and the mission parameters. This.. this won't be a problem, will it?" Tanner asks the delicate question in a wary tone as he looks at Q.

Turning form where he was at his standing desk at the front of the room, Q takes the folder and shakes his head. "No, not a problem at all, Tanner." He reassures. "Bond and I are both professionals. We have always been aware of the stakes of our particular relationship, and have discussed it in detail. In some cases, we cannot fight our natures, but when it comes to our job, there will be no problem." he says in his normal brusque manner, flipping through the mission paperwork. "Yes. It's unfortunate that I haven't finished the prototype weapon, this would be the perfect testing grounds for it. I suppose there will be more opportunities in the future. I will have the paperwork and plane tickets ready by this afternoon. I believe there is an evening flight that 007 can be on." He says in his cool tones as he looks at Tanner for a few moments.

Shifting uneasily under the expectant gaze of Q, Tanner nods a little. "Very well, I'll inform M and 007." He says before turning on his heel and quickly leaving the room.

Knowing better than to rush Q, or to crowd him with something like this, Bond doesn't show up until later that evening, smiling a little as he leans against the door frame to the younger man's office. "What have you got for me this time, Q?" he finally asks, seeing a tray full of things and assuming they are for him, so he steps forward into the room and toward it.

Looking up from where he was putting the final parts together of a watch, Q takes a deep breath. "Standard issue firearm, your favorite Walther. Earpiece, this is the new model, and it's waterproof." This is followed by a pointed look toward the agent. "Watch, with a built in Geiger counter. Digital display, none of that clicking unless you get to an unsafe level, at which time it will set off an alarm. We don't expect that to be a problem, but better safe than sorry. Cuff links are tracking devices, but they double as small explosives if you need to blow a small lock or something of the sort. The pen is the detonator. Twist and then click the end. And it has a laser pointed."

"Why does the pen have a laser pointer?" Bond asks as he looks over the stuff, amused at how inventive Q has started being, and also how much he has started to take after his predecessors when it comes to 007's kit.

"Why not?" Q challenges as he looks at Bond, then he shrugs a little."Never know, you might need to give a presentation." He jokes before he considers. "That about covers it. Your itinerary and tickets, plus drop locations should you need anything." He hands over the envelope before he adds, "I almost forgot.." And he moves away to grab something from his desk. "Mobile. Secure line. Not able to be tracked or hacked. Except by me, of course." He says with some pride to his tone.

Taking both the envelope and the mobile, Bond flicks it on for a moment before tucking both pieces into the inside of his jacket and starting to put away the various other bits. "Thank you, Q. I am sure everything will be most helpful. Except for the laser pointed. But who knows, I may come across a cat that needs distracting." He glances sideways at the brunette before he smiles a little, and steps closer to slide one arm around Q's waist. "Try not to miss me too much." He jokes, just to antagonize the other man, nuzzling into his hair briefly for a moment and taking a deep breath of his scent before giving him a quick kiss. They are in the office, and they have ground rules about that, between the two of them.

"I survived quite a few years without you, Bond. I am sure I can survive a few more nights." Q says as he pushes away from the agent, shaking his head as he straightens his clothes. "Try not to get killed out there, 007." He says casually, but they both know there is more weight behind those words than either of them want to admit.

"I've got too much of a reason to come home." Bond agrees, taking a few steps before he pauses in the doorway to look back at Q. "I'll let you know when I land and have eyes on the target." It looks as if he wanted to say something else, but decides to leave it at that before he turns and leaves the office to pack his bags and catch his flight.

* * *

**Pre-warning. There may be emotional stuff up ahead. Also, sorry it took me a little longer to update. Life has not been cooperating. But I should be back into rhythm this week, I hope. I hope you all enjoy this!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	18. Chapter 18

Q busiest himself at work while Bond is on his flight, knowing there is really nothing g he can do regardleas, but he wants to be at the office when Bond lands at the very least. Nothing may be expected to start tonight, but when it comes to 007, safety should never be assumed. He does have a habit of getting himself into trouble wherever he goes. The young boffins does not spend his time idly by, instead working on some projects and prototypes that need to be done. He does, however, manage to remember to break dinner and leaves the building to get some fresh air and food at one of the local restaurants.

The place he chooses is nearby, a small Italian place that sports a dozen tables at most. But it's generally quiet and intimate and has a bar at the back for those that don't want to sit at a table alone, or want to merely sample the impressive wine selection the place offers.

Q chooses to sit at a corner table by himself of course, laying his mobile on the table in case there are any emergencies, before he picks up his menu. As he is trying to decide on his meal, he doesn't notice the man approaching the table until he clears his throat to speak up.

"Excuse me.. aren't you Bartholomew Saxon?" The man speaking had a pleasant enough voice, but he was also tall, broad, and there was a look I'm his eye that made Q rather nervous. That, and the fact the man spoke a name that the young man hasn't heard in a long time.

"I'm sorry? You must have the wrong bloke. My name is Quinn Jackson." Q lies easily as he looks at the man, despite his increased hear rate. He should have chosen something closer to work, and something more public, but he's never had a problem at this place before.

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, the taller man looks down at Q as if assessing him. "You sure you don't have a twin? You look exactly like Bart. I went to school with him. Haven't seen him in ages. Well, except he didn't wear glasses or dress so much like my grandfather." He says as he looks at Q's clothes in distaste.

Q was getting increasingly suspicious and uncertain since he does not know this man and certainly never went to any school with him, yet he knows what Q used to look like, how he used to dress. That is not a good thing. And as much as he wants to bolt from the building, he knows that would be highly suspicious.

"No, I'm quite sure I am not this man you're looking for. Nor do I have any siblings. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to eat my dinner in peace." Q says in a firm, formal tone as he looks at the other man steadily, trying not to betray his nervousness.

A moment or two passes as the man watches Q for a moment, then nods and plasters on a friendly smile. "Yah, sure. Sorry to bother you, mate." He turns and strides back over to a table where another man is sitting as well.

While this incident does give Q an idea o working on a camera combined into a contact lens - just for th apparent usefulness of it - he turns to order his meal when the waiter comes, trying to figure out how to alert MI6 without making it seem to those two men like he is calling for help.

Salvation comes via a text from Moneypenny inquiring after him. Gratefuly, Q picks up his phone casually after it vibrates and dings at him, telling Moneypenny to meet him at the restaurat. And to bring surveillance with her.

It doesn't take long for the ever-efficient woman to arrive at the restaurant, dressed in an orange and white patterned dress that makes her skin practically glow. She pauses by the door to look around before she smiles radiant when she spots Q. "I am so sorry I'm late. I got stuck on the tube. Did you order already?" She, hugging Q after he stands to greet her.

Letting the hug linger, she whispers quickly in his ear, "A team is hidden outside. Guys in the corner, yeah?"

Responding to both the loud question and the whispered one, Q smiles a little as he returns the hug. "Yes." He pass before continuing, pulling out a chair for her. "No worries, I just ordered a few minutes ago. I am quite sure they can come and take your order." He reassures before he sits back down himself.

"I love this place, they have a wonderful menu.." Eve continues conversationally, looking around as if searching for a waiter, but her eyes dart around the room taking in strategic exits, potential cover, and other occupants of the room. Everything a field agent is trained for. Even if she was never a double-oh, or even an agent anymore.

"Very true, but I'd best not have any. I have to go back to work after this. Did you know this restaurant used to be called something else? Though now that I think about it, it was some horrible name. I would be surprised if anyone knew it anymore." Q says casually, drinking some water as he tries to let Eve know what happened in a subtle way so she has some idea.

Looking at Q, Eve gives a slow, but firm nod, letting the boffins know she understood. If not all of it, then some at least. "Yeah, well. Not that important anymore, is it? The old name. New one is much better." She reassures with a small smile, putting her hand over his gently.

Relaxing since the encounter with that man, Q smiles a little and nod, lifting his hand to summon a waiter. The conversation flows into meaningless chatter, the men in the corner booth seeming to lose interest in it. Their conversation avoids work because that would just bee too complicated to watch their words.

When dinner is finished, Q walks with Eve out of the restaurant ad back to MI6, both of them remaining silent until they are in the elevator to get to Q branch.

"Want to tell me exactly happened, now?" Eve asks as she turns to look at Q, arms crossed over her chest.

Running one hand through his already messy hair, Q sighs a little. "The two men in the corner. The larger one came over like he knew me. He used my real name, said we went to school together. I told him I was Quin Jackson, the cover name I use if I need one. Don't think he believed me though. And I did not go to school with him." Q explains firly, a little rattled and in need of that drink, but he does have a bit stashed in his office, so figures he will have a bit once there.

"This may be a security issue, then. You should stay here tonight. Just in case. I'll let M know what happened." She glances over when the elevator doors open.

"Of course. That is not someting unfamiliar to me, afterall. Glad I keep a change of clothes at the office." Q notes, stepping out of the elevator before he turns to look back at Eve. "Thank you for the company." He smiles a little before he turns toward his office, making sure his head is held high and his movements are confident so no one will know anything happened while he was out.

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**A bit more mystery for you. Sorry if there are any typos, I wrote this on my phone, since my laptop is on the fritz. Thank goodness all my stuff is saved elsewhere, too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	19. Chapter 19

After a brief knock at the office door, M looks up from the paperwork he was working on and sighs a little. "Come in." There are very few people who would interrupt him like this and none of it is usually good, so he is not looking forward to whoever comes through that door.

Fortunately it is the least irritating of the people M thought of, as he watches Eve step through the large double doors to his grandiose office, closing them gently behind her. "Sir, I need to speak to you about Q." She begins with no preamble, the usually happy and slightly playful look gone from her face, replaced by genuine concern.

"What about Q?" M's mind went through several different scenarios as to what might have happened, from physical harm to something to do with 007, which he almost expects on a daily basis. He would have thought those two would be the most volatile couple in the world, but it seems that they have become one of the most stable that he has seen.

Before speaking, Moneypenny sits down in the seat across from M, gathering her thoughts together. "There was an incident earlier that might constitute a security breach." She explains, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. "Someone approached Q in a restaurant not too far from here, asking about him. By his real name. Q managed to dissuade him, but the fact that someone put his face to a name that is supposed to be dead..." She trails off and spreads her hands in front of her, palm up, to sum up the situation.

This was something very dangerous indeed. M knows exactly why some of their agents – like Q – give up their name when they join MI6. To protect themselves, to protect the agency, and to protect their family. In Q's case it merely made the most sense. His family may still be aware that he is alive, but to the general public, his old persona should be dead. Quite literally. "I see. Make sure that we have agents outside of Q-branch. While 007 is in the field, he is to go nowhere by himself. Keep him in the building whenever possible. And pull the footage from CCTV outside the restaurant. I want to be able to put names to faces. When you have the footage, bring it to Q so he can identify the person who approached him." His tone is firm, but he only looks at Eve for a few moments before he turns his attention back to his laptop. "Lets not inform Bond just yet if we can help it. No need to compromise his mission." He says with the smallest of winces as he imagines what would happen if they tell Bond when there isn't more information.

A small nod is given from Eve as she gets up. "Of course, sir. I'll inform you when we have more information." She says as she watches him for a moment before she turns and heads back toward the door. The things she was assigned are easy for a former agent like herself, even without involving Q. It's not as if she has to hack into anything, she just needs to pull some footage. It will be keeping this from Bond which will be the most difficult part. And something that she needs to tell Q about before he says anything to Bond, whose flight should be landing at any time, which means he should be checking in.

~oOo~

Even though Eve told him he shouldn't tell Bond about the incident at dinner, it goes against the grain and against instincts since everything that he is says that he wants to tell his Alpha – his mate – and let him take care of any danger or problems. But that is not something that would be a good idea with Bond out on a mission. Q knows that, but it still makes him a little sad that he might have to lie.

When Bond checks in, Q is already on the comms and he smiles a little as he hears the other man's voice coming through them.

"Bond checking in, landed safely, though the hotel could have been a bit better. Q, are you there?" The older man asks with a bit of playful irritation in his tone.

Q smirks a little and shakes his head for a few moments before he switches it over to a secure line and nods. "I'm here, Bond. Good to hear you made it safely. You aren't meant to stand out, which means a higher class of hotel is not only unnecessarily expensive, but would go against that mandate." He keeps his professional tone because there are others around, even if there aren't many because it is technically the night shift.

A small snort comes from Bond before he replies, "You're just making sure I don't get spoiled somehow, aren't you?" He sighs a little, messing around with something before he continues. "I suppose it will be suitable. I'll start my surveillance tomorrow." He pauses for a minute before he continues. "Why are you still at work? It's bloody late to be hanging out there."

"I decided to stay here tonight actually. I have a bit of work to finish up and didn't fancy going home to an empty flat tonight." Q says smoothly, surprised at how well and how easily he was able to lie to Bond. This is good for him and for the mission though and it is not the first time he has had to lie to the agent, or any agent for that matter.

"Mm. Right. Are you sure that's all, Q? You sound off." The old agent is much more perceptive than others might think and he hones in on the tone in Q's voice, having heard it enough that it is easier for him to tell the small nuances.

"I'm just tired, Bond. I have to deal with demanding agents all day." Q says playfully, but is a little worried since he didn't expect Bond to pick up on his deception that fast. "And I am frustrated that I did not get that gun done in time for you to take it into the field. This mission would have been the perfect test for it."

Bond chuckles a little and there is a smile in his tone when he speaks next. "You'll finish it for next time, Q. It's not as if I haven't done a mission with my Walther before. I do expect to have it next time, though." He adds playfully before continuing. "Go get some rest, Q. I have to get some sleep and get acclimated to the time zone here."

"Of course. We'll speak tomorrow." Q is back to being more professional and way from the slightly playful tone he had slipped into, "Goodnight, 007."

"Goodnight, Q. Pleasant dreams." Bond replies before he sighs off, though he is not entirely convinced that Q was telling him the truth, he knows that there are many things that might affect what Q does and does not tell him.

* * *

**Just a little filler chapter. I hope you enjoy this and where it is going! Also, I saw Spectre over the weekend and I would recommend seeing it in the theater. It is awesome, and Q is completely adorable in it. I need to see it again so I can pay more attention and then go into a fanfic frenzy. Lol. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	20. Chapter 20

When Moneypenny gets the footage that she needs from the CCTV cameras the next day, she heads down to where Tanner is, knowing that he can be trusted with this information. He also tends to be Bond's handler as it were so he is relatively close with Q. Before he and Bond started to get intimate, occasionally the three would order in dinner and have a chat when they were around late, usually because of one of Bond's missions.

Seeing the man thankfully alone at his desk, Eve walks over to him with her tablet balanced on one hand and she smiles a little. "Good afternoon, Tanner." She says pleasantly as she watches him, figuring there is no reason not to exchange pleasantries before she goes asking for favors.

Unfortunately for Moneypenny, her attempt at politeness has only put Tanner on edge. The man looks up from his desk at her with a distinctly weary, suspicious expression. "What do you want?" He finally asks as he sees that she has her tablet. "Blimey.. is it really afternoon already?" He asks as an afterthought, glancing at the clock on his computer screen before he sighs and rubs a hand over his face. As he waits for a reply from the wily secretary, he gets up and walks to get some coffee from a nearby carafe.

"Why do you think just because I came down here I need something? I do come just for a chat once in a while." Eve notes with a poutiness to her tone before she sighs.

"When you come just to chat, you don't usually start out with saying 'good afternoon'." Tanner points out before he comes back to his desk to sit down after fixing his coffee the way he likes it – lots of sugar to get him through the day.

"As it stands, I need your assistance in identifying two men. I have pictures from CCTV. I need to know if they come up in any criminal database domestic or foreign, including any of ours." The younger woman continues as she turns her tablet so that he can see it, perching on the edge of his desk. "And this is to be kept between us. The only other person who is allowed to know about this is M. I'm keeping him informed." Her tone is quite serious as she watches the man pause with his mug halfway to his lips.

"That serious, eh? Who are these blokes?" This is not usually a question that he asks, usually Tanner is asked to do something and he does it. He doesn't necessarily need to know who or why, and sometimes he finds out in the course of doing whatever it is he's asked to do.

For a few moments it seems as if Moneypenny is trying to figure out whether or not she should tell Tanner, her usually upbeat, sunny disposition gone for the moment, indicating just how serious the situation is. "Those two approached Q in that Italian place around the corner. They knew his real name." She isn't privy to the information of what that name is exactly, but she knows that it's bad. "They pretended to know him from school or something. Q said he'd never seen them in his life, and if anyone would remember their mates from school, I think it would be him." A small frown crosses her face as she looks down at the picture before she sends them to Tanner's computer. "M wanted me to investigate, but you know these systems a great deal better than me. Bond doesn't know yet, either."

Eyebrows up in surprise, Tanner stares at Eve for a few moments before he nods slightly. "That would be an issue. If someone were to get a hold of Q.." Deciding not to think about that, the man instead turns toward his computer and brings up the facial recognition program he needs. "This may take some time.." He warns Moneypenny as he imports the pictures from her tablet and puts them into the computer to start searching the database.

"When you say some time, is this the sort of thing I should wait around for, or are you telling me to go back to my office?" Eve asks with some amusement as she looks down at Tanner, arching one delicate eyebrow for a moment.

"Go get some food and go back to your office. I'll call you when I get anything." Tanner says as he glances up at her and then looks back at his program, hitting a few keys to try and narrow things down a bit and make it go a little faster.

"Oh, alright. Make sure you do. And as I said, keep this to yourself." Moneypenny says firmly before she shuts off her tablet with a few flicks of her fingers and then turns to walk out of the small office to return to her desk. There are other things needing her attention as well, as much as she wants to find this person right away, she has a feeling it will be some time before they will have their answers.

~oOo~

Grateful for his preparedness in always keeping a change of clothes at the office, and the fact that there are showering facilities on site, Q gets himself cleaned up and finds breakfast waiting for him on his desk in the form of a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. The handwriting on the bag leaves little to the imagination when it comes to guessing who it came from. Rather than making a bit deal about it, Q instead just smiles and settles down to enjoy his breakfast as he goes over some emails and reports.

The best thing for him to do is work, since the young man finds himself on lock down after the events of the day before. Still, it is frustrating knowing that he cannot leave the building. Which leads his mind off to wondering how people on submarines do it, or those that have to work in secret underground bases. Not able to get fresh air or see the sky for extended periods of time. At least he can go to a different part of the building and look out a window. It is highly unlikely there will be a sniper anywhere nearby just waiting for him to come to a window. Snickering at the thought, Q turns his mind back to his work and finishes up his reports for the morning in record time, no one seeing fit to bother him this early in the morning. Or they didn't see him come in this morning because he woke up so early and assume he is not at work yet. Either way it gives him several hours of productivity before he ventures out into Q branch to make sure that everyone is on task, fielding questions and taking suggestions.

Lunch is another delivery by one of the many lower level runners always seen dashing this way and that with files, boxes or other items. Q thanks the younger man nonetheless before he heads to his office to enjoy his meal. Letting the door swing closed behind him he sighs, wondering who it was that could be responsible for this, when he gets a text message on his phone from Bond's number. Once again he is grateful for having gotten them both secure phones.

Did you get your lunch? -James

Yes, I just did. I take it you are responsible for it being delivered? -Q

I might have. I want to make sure you stop and eat. Did you have breakfast this morning? -James.

Yes. Ms. Moneypenny got me breakfast, it was waiting for me on my desk when I came in. Thank you for lunch. -Q

Good. And you're welcome. How is Q-Branch today? -James

Don't you have a mission you should be attending to? -Q

Surveillance. Not very exciting. Requires some silence, but texting is a wonderful resource. -James

You didn't answer the question. -James.

Q-branch is fine. There are some projects we are working on, I got my paperwork done uninterrupted for once. After lunch I'll be going down to the range to test some things R&amp;D have been working on. -Q

Be careful. -James

Always. Wouldn't want to endanger your mission by getting hurt. -Q

Good. Got to go, on the move. Will call later. Miss you. - James

Deciding not to distract him with another text back, Q just smiles a little and shakes his head as he goes about eating his lunch. He misses the agent as well, and it's only been one day. Which means they are getting far too used to being around eachother. A good thing for mates perhaps, but not so much for the profession they are currently in. The situation Q is in right now comes back to mind, and he sighs a little as he stares blankly at his computer screen. It is much easier to lie to Bond and hide things from him when the man is halfway across the world.

The fact remains, he cannot stay in MI6 forever. And he doesn't want to send anyone to pick up clothes because if Bond comes home and smells another man in their flat, it might cause complications. A fight he does not want to even start if he doesn't have to. Removing his glasses, Q rubs a hand over his face as he thinks of what to do. At the very least, he will have to go get some clothes. That will likely require talking to M this afternoon.

Finishing the last of his food, Q pulls his keyboard toward him and sends out a quick email to M requesting a meeting with him that afternoon, before he gets up and strides out to do exactly what he told James he was going to do. And that is testing out a few things R&amp;D came up with, to see if any of them are feasible to send out in the field or if they are just flights of whimsy from the R&amp;D crew. Which has been known occasionally, a good idea turns into some monstrosity which is not practical and it's necessary to send them back to the drawing board.

After an exhausting few hours in the gun range, Q returns to his office to see Moneypenny there waiting for him. "M wanted me to see if you were free for the meeting you requested." She says with a little smile on her face. "Come on, then, put those papers down, we don't want to keep him waiting.

"Of course." Q says before he does as he's bid, putting the papers and folders he was carrying with the reviews, designs and proposals from the R&amp;D department, onto his desk before he turns to follow Eve toward the elevators. "He could have just returned the email or called." Q points out as he glances over at his friend before reaching up to adjust his glasses.

"We did try to call. They said you were unreachable in the gun range. So M thought it was best that I come down to get you myself. And it's always nice for me to get out of the office once in a while." The young woman says with a little smile that seems to beguile a lot of men.

It merely makes Q a little suspicious at the moment and he merely nods. "I fully understand needing to get out of the office for a few moments." He says as he looks at the numbers ticking past above the doors of the elevators. "That is what I want to talk to M about, in fact." He states just as the doors open and he walks through, heading up to M's door to knock.

After he receives a response, Q steps inside the heavy, large wooden doors into M's office, making sure it closes behind him before he walks over to the older man's desk. "Thank you for seeing me, M." He says with a small nod of his head.

"Of course. You so rarely request a meeting, I imagine it is something important, so I made a bit of time in my schedule." M gets up, shakes Q's hand and then walks over to a small table where there is usually a few decanters of various alcohol's, but a small tea pot and a few mugs have joined it. "Earl Grey is your favorite, is it not?" He asks as he pours two mugs and then brings one over to Q, placing a small try of sugar and cream on his desk in front of Q.

"Yes, thank you, sir." Q mutters cautiously, taking the tea and preparing it to his liking before he sits down. "It is about the effective lock down I am in at the moment." He begins before he takes a sip of his tea, looking at it in surprise. "This is rather good, what brand is it?"

M smiles a little as he sits down behind his desk again and he nods slowly. "It's a special blend, I've forgotten the name of. Moneypenny will tell you." He says before he sips his own tea. "I'm afraid I can't risk you being kidnapped, you're far too valuable an asset, Q."

Distracted for a moment by the tea, Q returns his attention to his boss, taking a moment to prepare his next words. "I understand that, sir. I understood when I took this job. However, while I may have previously let someone enter my flat and pick up clothes or whatever else, it's not an acceptable course of action. Bond would not be very pleased to smell another man in the flat, you see." The boffin can feel his cheeks pinken slightly at discussing something like this with his boss and ordinarily he would never bring it up, but it is a valid objection at the moment, he feels.

"Ah, yes. I had not considered that." M says honestly as he sits back, steepling his fingers in thought as he tries to figure out a solution. "If you wish to return to your flat, you will have to be escorted by an agent, in one of our cars." He says seriously as he looks at the younger man, trying to figure out what is best for everyone, in a way which Q will still be safe.

"Yes. As long as the guards stay outside the flat, then it will be acceptable." Q says in his usual calm manner, looking back at M and trying not to betray his nervousness about the situation.

"I'll make arrangements for you to go around 6, best to miss most of the rush hour traffic in case anyone is watching for you. I must admit, you are taking this a bit better than I expected." M says as he pulls out a paper from one of his drawers and starts making a few notes on it.

Q chuckles softly as he looks down into his remaining tea, considering the comment before he answers. "Yes, well. When I took this job, I knew it was not necessarily safe. My predecessor did not get out unscathed afterall." Lifting his head to look at M, he lifts one hand to adjust his glasses a bit. "I am confident we will be able to find out who those men were and what they might want, in short order. And once Bond returns it will be a different situation. What better protection could I have than 007?" He asks, rather amused and hiding a smile behind his mug as he takes a drink of the liquid.

"Yes. Well. It seems I underestimated you as a person, Q. You're much stronger than I originally thought." M says before he nods slowly. "Once Bond returns it will be different, yes. For now, best to get a few days of clothes and any toiletries you might need. I imagine once your mate returns we will have to inform him of what is going on. Not a conversation I look forward to. Best get back to work." He says with a nod of his head toward Q, a clear dismissal as he turns to look at his computer and write out the orders he expects to be followed.

Placing his mug down beside the sugar and creamer tray, Q nods a little. "Yes, sir. There is never any shortage of work in Q-branch." He says with a smirk before he stands and turns toward the door. Once outside, he looks over at Moneypenny. "You must tell me where M gets his Earl Grey, it's a wonderful blend."

Moneypenny looks up from her desk and grins a little. "I'm afraid it's classified information, Q. But I might be able to wrangle up a tin or two for you." She says playfully, then adds, "He wasn't very harsh on you, I hope?"

"On the contrary, it felt like he was wearing kid gloves, as if I might fall apart in the face of this danger." Q snorts a little at the thought. "Hardly. It would take a great deal more for me to crumble." He says confidently before he looks at Eve. "If you could get me some of the tea, I would be appreciative, however." Finally, he turns toward the elevators. "Back to the grindstone." He decides as he heads for the doors, sighing a little when they close in front of them and he is allowed to go back to his own domain.

* * *

**Sorry this has taken a while to get out. Computer issues and holidays have been blocking me, but I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless, hopefully I will get back to it now. Thank you for sticking with me over the last few months where I haven't been posting much. I promise I haven't abandoned anything. :) And I hope everyone has wonderful holidays!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	21. Chapter 21

As happens so often, Q loses track of time during the day until another agent comes up, dressed in a rather sharp suit, and clears his throat a little. "Q, sir. I'm here by M's request to escort you back to your flat." The man says somewhat formally, keeping a decent distance and not crowding Q.

Looking up and over at the man in surprise, Q adjusts his glasses and nods. "Ah. Of course. Let me just get my jacket, I was at a good stopping point anyway.." Putting his soldering iron aside, Q walks over to grab his jacket and keys, looking around and patting his pockets to make sure he doesn't need anything else, before he nods slowly to the agent. "Lead the way, agent."

The walk to the elevator and the ride down to the parking level is quiet, making Q shake his head a little. It's obvious that the other man – about his own age – wants to ask questions of him, but is keeping silent either because he is under orders or is merely concerned with propriety or something of the sort.

Once in the car, Q leans his head against the window, staring out at the buildings whizzing by as he thinks about Bond and how his job might be going. If all goes well, 007 should be headed back to London in the next day or two. And the boffin certainly wants his mate to come back sooner rather than later. It's just been a day, but a lot of things have happened and he misses his mate. Absently, he puts one hand over the mark on his shoulder where it's hidden under his shirt, wondering what the agent is doing-

Q's thoughts come to an abrupt halt as his world is thrown into confusion. Thrown across the car, his head and shoulder impact the opposite side of the door, glasses falling to the floor board. Vaguely, he realizes that a car must have impacted the driver's side where he was sitting. After what must have been only a few seconds, the door supporting his back disappears and strong hands grab his arms, a black fabric bag going over his head. Still dazed and likely concussed, Q is in no state to fight back, instead being dragged across the pavement and tossed into the bed of a truck or back of a van. Whatever it is, it is wood, smells faintly of gasoline and is very hard. Before he can react any further, Q is pressed flat onto his front, knee pressed across his back before rough, strong hands bind his arms behind his back.

The most striking thing is the silence. There are the normal noises of the city Q can hear over the ringing in his ears, faint sirens in the distance, but from his kidnappers there is nothing beyond few grunts of effort. Despite any training he had when he was just another member of Q-branch, he is unable to distinguish anything else as he lingers on the edge of consciousness.

At some point after being put inside the vehicle, Q must have passed out, since his next thought is when he jerks awake. Unbound, with no hood on his head, and significantly more rumpled than he remembers being. He must have been searched when he was out. Lifting his hand to his sore head, he feels a small bandage there which gives him hope. They don't want him dead, at least. He is more valuable as a hostage to these men. They must want money or something from him specifically. Either way, it gives the young man time to figure an escape. Since he woke up on the floor, he now takes the opportunity to look around, examining the small cell he was put in.

From the mustiness of the room, the young boffin assumes it is in a basement somewhere. There are no lights, just a heavy wooden door at the top of 4 stone steps, and two windows set high up in the walls. The windows themselves have bars over them, but some sort of rice paper or something to make them opaque so no one can look out or in, but it does allow some light in. The amount of light coming in leads Q to believe it is either daytime, or they are right next to a street light of some sort. Unfortunately he cannot hear any noise from outside. They must either be off the street or there is an incredible amount of sound proofing between him and the outside world.

Straightening himself the best he can, Q runs a hand through his hair before he starts to feel along the wall for anything of interest, also noticing his glasses are still missing. Until they ensure his cooperation, he assumes they don't want to give him anything to help him escape or possibly injure himself. Interesting, but frustrating. And if he is merely being used for ransom, there is no reason to give his glasses back.

Finding nothing of interest along the walls, Q sighs a little and arranges himself in the warmer corner of the room away from the windows, leaning against the wall and deciding to try and get some rest. Apparently there is nothing he can do until his captors decide to make some contact with him.

~oOo~

Half an hour after Q leaves the building, Moneypenny receives an alert which sends her rushing into M's office, glad that the older man is working late like he so often does, due to having agents on critical missions in other time zones.

"Sir, you need to see this." Moneypenny says as she loads something up on her tablet, turning it around for her boss to see the video. It's CCTV video of a car crash. While it might look like a normal crash, the young man being dragged out of the car to the unmarked van is rather distinctive. "The alert came through that one of our cars is involved in a crash, we pulled the footage." She explains of it.

M looks over at the tablet, thinking his assistant must have something awfully important to barge in in such a rush. Of course, as soon as he sees the video he understands. "Q." He states without question. "The agent driving the car?" He questions, sighing a little as he sees the look on Moneypenny's face that tells him the fate of the driver. It really is surprising how many employees MI6 loses to rather mundane things. He is starting to think that he needs to have someone look into that. Of course his mind first goes to Q, and then is immediately brought back to the matter at hand. "Assign whoever you need to. Identify those men. See if Tanner has any matches for those men from the restaurant. See if they match any of those two men." He demands in frustration as he points at the tablet. "Find Q." He orders, before he goes and pours himself a drink. "And contact R, to take over Q-branch for the time being. I'll contact Bond."

"Is that wise, sir?" Moneypenny asks after jotting down some notes of what she needs to do, and sending out some secure emails to those involved. She knows Tanner has probably gone home for the night, so she sends him an email, and will call him if he doesn't respond soon.

M glances over at Moneypenny and shakes his head. "I don't have a choice. Hopefully by the time 007 comes back, we will have Q safely back home. Monitor whatever you need to, see if any demands come through on any channels. Find him." He repeats his order in a clear dismissal.

With a firm nod of her head, the young woman turns on her heels and strides for the door, looking down at the paused video on her tablet, the way Q is pulled out so limply. "Please be alright, Q.." She mumbles, only having hope of his health from the fact that the kidnappers put a hood over his head. Surely they would not have bothered if he were dead.

Deciding to head down to Q-branch to talk to R, Moneypenny takes her tablet, sending off orders. She doesn't want the whole building in a panic, but there are people and departments needing to know Q is unavailable, while others can help in locating the boffin. It is getting late but at the moment she doesn't bloody well care who she wakes up or drags into work. If Q were made to talk, he has too much valuable information about the security and technology MI6 uses to allow him to be held hostage.

* * *

**Ok. So. Life. That's all I have to say. Glad to be back to this! And Spectre comes out on DVD on Tuesday so hopefully watching it again will give me more inspiration! Thanks to everyone who is sticking with me, I will try to be a better author for you guys. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	22. Chapter 22

M waits for an hour before making the call to Bond, deciding how to tell the older agent and what exactly he knows. He also hopes that there might be some word from Moneypenny, but at the end of the hour he hasn't heard any news. Downing the rest of his brandy, he finally picks up the secure line to call his agent, hoping sorely he is not interrupting the mission.

When the agent picks up, his tone is droll and yet still a little surprised. "M. What a surprise. Taking a personal interest in this mission, sir?" He asks as he looks out the window from the room he's renting, which also lets him keep an eye on the target.

"Not exactly, 007. We have a situation here which I felt warranted a call." M says as he dodges the real issue for a few moments, fidgeting with the items on his desk. It's not that he's nervous precisely, it's just that he dislikes delivering bad news and he fears Bond going off the radar and doing something foolish which will bring heat down on MI6.

"How unusual of you to be so vague, M. And while I am finishing up this mission, I don't think I exactly have the time for chitchat, so why don't we get to the point." Bond says with some rising anxiety which he keeps neatly hidden from his tone.

Pinching the bridge of his nose for a few moments, M pauses in order to formulate his reply. "It's Q. It seems he's been kidnapped." He says in what he hopes is a casual tone which doesn't betray how very concerned he is by this development.

Bond was just about to pick up a glass of whiskey when M speaks, causing him to pause for a few moments, hand balling into a fist instead as his entire body tenses. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. Could you repeat that?" He asks, keeping his tone lighthearted, with a great deal of effort.

"Q was approached the night before last by unidentified men. We of course, kept him at MI6 after that, while we tried to determine who those men were. But he insisted on going home to retrieve some personal items. He was being escorted by one of our agents of course. Somehow they knew the route or where Q lived, and rammed the car. The agent is dead and Q is missing, presumably kidnapped. It's only been a few hours, but we are pursuing every possible lead." M clarifies as he fully explains what's going on, looking out his window over the night sky of London.

Having his worst fears realized, Bond gulps down the glass of whiskey before he starts to move, gathering his things and throwing them into his suitcase. "What do we know about the men who approached him? I'll be back in London in a few hours. There's nothing more I can do here, I'll send you the rest of my report on the way." Years of training have allowed him to remain calm in this situation, no matter how much his instincts are screaming at him, or how much he wants to lash out and break something. He knows it won't help and it will only waste time.

Even though he knew this was a likely outcome, M still has to shake his head a little at his least predictable agent. "Yes, I had a feeling you would be returning. I've got 005 on her way to take over for you. From your reports, she might be a little more effective. You're booked on a flight which leaves in thirty minutes. I'm sending you the flight information as well as everything we have on the men who approached Q." He says as he taps a few keys on his laptop. "Keep in mind, this will not be a normal mission, since it is on domestic soil." He warns as he looks down at his laptop, scrolling through the information to re-acquaint himself with it, even though he's been over it a dozen times already.

Pulling his phone away from his face, Bond checks it for a few moments before he puts it back to his ear. "I've got it." Finally some of his anger and perhaps fear creeps into his tone as he thinks about M calling this a 'mission'. "This isn't a mission for me, M. This is revenge. If Q is harmed in any way, the men who took him and the men who are behind it, will not live to see the their next birthday." There is a menacing note to his tone which shows exactly why he is a double-oh, as well as the instincts of an Alpha whose mate has been threatened.

M pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment again as he realizes what a headache this is going to be . "Try to be discreet, Bond. I understand the situation and I am not telling you not to do it, but please do try and keep a low profile, for once."

"No promises." Bond says before he hangs up, finishes packing his things and then leaves the room. It's not as if he has a lot of time to get to his flight and all he can think about is what Q might be going through, and how afraid he is that his Omega might be injured, or worse.

~oOo~

By the time Moneypenny makes an appearance, R has the entirety of Q-branch in a tizzy. No one kidnaps their boss without the full might of the department being brought down on them. R looks over at Moneypenny when she comes in, and nods. "Moneypenny. "We've been doing a full sweep of every CCTV camera in the area." She says as she brings up a map on the main screen. "We don't have full coverage however. We were able to track the van for about twenty blocks before we lost it. We're still searching. We have estimated the kidnappers must have stopped somewhere in this area." She hits a few keys and a large circular area is highlighted on the map.

Moneypenny nods to R before she looks up at the map, thinking about it for a few moments. "They might have switched cars, though. He still could be anywhere, but we need to sweep this area." She says in a firm tone. "I'll send out some agents to search the area discreetly." She says as she taps the orders out on her tablet and sends them out. "Do we have anything more on the men who approached Q?" She asks as she looks at the man's second in command.

R nods a little as she looks at the board. "We aren't sure he's still in that area either. They know our abilities, they must know what Q is capable of and who he is, they were able to find out he was leaving with just a single agent and intercept the car. We've tracked down all of the communications in and out of MI6 around that time to try and see who might have tipped them off, but so far we haven't found anything. It's possible they were just watching the building and waiting. But we don't think they were patient enough for that." She says with a small frown as she looks up at the main screen.

"What? You think it might be someone inside MI6?" Moneypenny asks in surprise since she hadn't even thought it could be. Of course, with the suggestion, it does make a certain amount of sense to her. She's been behind a desk too long, she muses to herself. Looking up at the screen as well, Moneypenny tries to consider all of the angles. "If it was someone inside, there's no way they would use their personal cellphones or a land line, those can be traced, especially inside the building. Look for anything in radio signals. The only signals that should be there should be from internal security, but it's not something we would check right away." She offers as she looks at the other woman.

"I should have thought of that. I'm sorry." R says before she leans over her computer and starts to do what she was told, "Found it. There was a signal going out around the time that Q left the building. So it is someone in MI6." She says in frustration, straightening before she pulls her hair back into a ponytail and then sits down in front of the computer again to better track down the source. "As for the men that approached Q, Tanner found out they were hired guns, mercenaries. They aren't very active and mostly stay in the shadows, but they have been seen several times, enough for us to get some intelligence on them. We don't know anything about their base of operations though. We're assisting in the search now that we have a lead. Tanner is still working on it as well." She says with only a slight distraction to her words as she works on her laptop, text and screens flashing by as she works the system.

"It's alright, it wouldn't have been my first guess either. We take some things for granted sometimes when they are in our backyard." Moneypenny reassures the younger woman as she looks at the screens for a few moments, sending a message off to Tanner to see if there is any more information. "I'll report what we have to M. If there are any more developments, let me know immediately." She says in a firm tone, also sending off a message which will put MI6 into lock down, no one in or out until they catch who was the one who alerted the mercenaries to Q leaving. Technically speaking that is supposed to be something that only M can authorize, but she is fairly sure her boss won't mind in this case. She does send a message off to him quickly however, just in case he does mind, before she starts to head back up to his office too update him on the developments.

* * *

**I hope everyone likes this chapter! Bond is about to kick some serious butt. And I am on vacation this week, so I hope to have more updates, at least this week. :) Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this and still enjoys it!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	23. Chapter 23

MI6 being on lock down and not letting anyone in or out, only works so far, and it certainly doesn't work against a double-oh who has been around as long as 007 has. When the front door doesn't work, he merely takes a back way in. His bag is still in his car, except for his gun, which lets him look as if he's been around and not just returning from a mission, for those sheep in the building that don't know the difference.

"Moneypenny." Bond greets the secretary as he passes by her, leaving her looking rather shocked in his wake as he heads through to M's office, not bothering to knock or be announced, he merely steps into the office. "Progress." He nearly orders the head of MI6 as he walks up to the desk.

A little startled at the sudden appearance of 007, M looks up from his computer screen and he sighs, motioning to the chair. "The two men who approached Q were mercenaries. One of whom has already shown up dead. We lost the van after a few blocks due to CCTV coverage in that area not being very good. Agents found the van abandoned on the side of the road. It had traces of Q's blood in it, but nothing to suggest he sustained any serious injury in the crash." He gets through this quickly as he holds up his hands to placate the Alpha who looks like he is about to explode when he hears that Q has been injured. "No demands have been made yet."

"I'm going to kill them." Bond says in a low, dangerous tone, barely keeping his composure. It wouldn't do any good to go running about when he doesn't know where he's going to be going. And if he goes to the wrong place, he may lose precious time when they do get a lead on Q. Taking a deep breath, he turns and walks over to the bottles of alcohol M has, pouring himself a glass and downing it quickly to soothe himself. "What else?" He asks, turning to look at M since he has a feeling that the man hasn't told him everything yet.

"We believe someone inside MI6 was the one who tipped the kidnappers off to Q leaving the building. There were some radio signals around the same time which was on a different frequency from our own security. Unfortunately we were too late to intercept it and therefore we do not know what was said or to who." M says with a sigh as he watches his agent carefully, well aware that if he said the wrong thing it could end badly. "Agents have gone around the area where R thought the van might be, and while they did find the van, they have not found Q or any trace of him. He has a tracker in case of a situation such as this, but R says it has either been removed or the signal has been blocked. We don't think it has been blocked, because no one outside of R and myself knew he even had it." He explains as he leans back in his chair. "There have been no attempts at breaching our security system, Q's credentials have been blocked temporarily, and R informs us there is no unusual activity on the net which would suggest a high level hack. We're at a loss as to why someone would go to the trouble of kidnapping Q without making any demands or moves at all."

"There are a lot of things Q knows, without having to hack into our system or anywhere else. He's a valuable asset, but you're right, we should have heard some activity by now." Bond says as he looks over at M for a few moments, frowning as he works over the different scenarios in his head. "Unless what they want isn't his knowledge, abilities, or leverage." He says as a cold feeling steals over him, and he goes perfectly still for a few moments. This is certainly the worst case scenario and he sorely hopes that he is wrong.

M gets up slowly as he looks at Bond for a few moments, concerned about what the agent has just realized. "What is it, Bond? If they don't want any of that, why bother kidnapping him?"

Slowly, the older agent turns to look at M, his grip on the tumbler almost enough to break it and certainly enough to make his hand tremble slightly with the effort. "If they don't want any of those things, then they must want Q himself. The man." He says in a quiet tone. For the first time, he feels fear wash over him as he looks at his boss. Injury because of torture for information would be one thing, but if someone wants Q as a man, or an Omega, then there could be much worse things his boffin could be going through.

Apparently this was not a thought which crossed M's mind either, and he looks at his agent with raised eyebrows. "Surely not. Who would even know he was an Omega, except someone inside of MI6. Everyone is accounted for. Except.." He trails off as dread unfolds inside of him, and he rubs a hand over his face for a moment. "009. Walters." He says, speaking of the former agent who already attacked Q once. It doesn't seem unlikely for it to escalate to this when he was so easily provoked to violence before. "He knows our procedures, it's likely he would know the areas where there is limited CCTV coverage. The contacts to get a quiet place and vehicles." He moves back over to his desk in a quick stride, pressing the button to open the intercom to Moneypenny. "Moneypenny, join us if you would."

Putting the glass down slowly so that he doesn't break it, Bond looks over at M for a few moments. "I told him, if he touched Q again, I would kill him. I mean to make good on my promise." His tone has a slight menacing growl behind his words, glancing over at the door when the young woman steps in.

"Sir?" Moneypenny asks when she comes in, quickly assessing the mood of the room as she glances between the two men, and she lifts up her tablet at the ready. "We have new information on Q's whereabouts?" She asks hopefully.

"Our best bet? Walters has him. Formerly 009. The one whose shoulder I already put a bullet through for attacking Q." James explains in a cold tone as he looks at the younger woman.

M nods a little along with what Bond says before he, too, looks at his secretary. "Pull his file. Get everything we know on him. Who he might have spent time with, any properties he owned, anything." He says before he glances over at Bond. "Contact any of the double-ohs he was close to as well, they maybe able to tell us more than our intelligence, since our double-ohs have a habit of keeping things to themselves." He notes as he glance at Bond for a moment.

With wide eyes, Moneypenny nods a little. "Certainly, sir, right away." She says as she makes note quickly with one hand, sending off messages at a rapid-fire pace to the respective double-ohs handlers, before she pulls up the file. "I'm sending the file to you now, sir, and to your printer." She says as she nods toward where it is sitting on the table, a second before it starts up.

"Good. Lets see if our hunch is right and if we can find anything on Walters to lead us to Q. Don't stop pursuing our other leads, we want to cover all of our bases." M says in a firm tone before he sits down to look at the file.

~oOo~

Q wakes with a start at the sound of metal grinding and then hitting against another metal piece. The lock to the door no doubt. Forcing himself to his feet while biting back a groan at his stiffness, he rubs the fog out of his eyes before running a hand through his hair and looking toward the door. Sure, he may be a prisoner, but no reason why he can't have some dignity.

When the door opens, it's a somewhat large looking thug who eclipses the doorway, walking over to Q with a pair of handcuffs which he puts on the younger man, hands in front of him, then grabs roughly onto his arm to push him out of the room and up the first flight of steps.

The top of the building is not so run down, Q finds out as he squints into the light a bit and looks around. It's older and needs a bit of love, the windows boarded up, but the electricity works and it appears to have been a house or a pub at one point, rather hard for him to tell which in the quick glance he gets before he is pushed into another room.

In the middle of the room is a table, set up with a nice tablecloth, candles, place settings with food at them, and glasses. It would be rather romantic if Bond had done it for him. Minus the kidnapping. But as it is with Q's hands cuffed, it is the most out of place thing he has seen so far. Only when he looks up at the man standing on the other side of the table does he get any inkling of what might be going on. "009." he says in surprise and out of reflex. "Walters." He corrects himself after a moment. "You're behind all of this?" He asks in surprise.

"Call me George, Q. You're going to be my guest here." The other man says, being a little older than Q, but only by a few years. While he might have been considered handsome in general, his hair has grown out some and is not as well kept as it used to be, giving him a scraggly appearance. There are other changes as well, but the biggest is the look in his eyes, as if something is not right. One might say deranged. He also seems to wholeheartedly believe what he is saying, which perhaps is most disturbing.

"I am not your guest, I am your prisoner. You kidnapped me." Q reminds the man, lifting his cuffed hands to show him just to push his point home. Slowly, he glances around the room to try and see if there are any other escape routes, but the goon who escorted him in seems to be blocking the only one.

"I'm sorry I had to go to such lengths, Q, but I had to get you away from the influence of Bond. I finally figured it out when I was.. recovering." Walters puts a hand against his shoulder where Bond had shot him. "It's not your fault, and I don't blame you. It's Bond, he's got some sort of control over you. Now that I've gotten you away from there, then you should go back to normal." He says with a little smile as he moves around the table slowly and toward Q, reaching out to touch the younger man's cheek.

Jerking back away from the touch, Q stumbles a step before he recovers himself, glaring. "Don't touch me!" He says sharply, realizing just how deranged the former double-oh has become. "You've lost your bloody mind. I love James. He's my Alpha. I chose him. I will never think of you as anything more than someone who assaulted me. Not once, but twice now." It might be dangerous to antagonize his captor like this, but at the moment Q doesn't see that he has much of a choice. There is no way he can pretend to like this man in any way, shape, or form.

Seeming disappointed but not angry, George merely nods a little. "It's too soon. You've only just been freed from Bond's influence. You'll come to realize the truth in a few days." he says confidently before he smiles again and motions. "You should eat, though. It's not much, but I thought you might be hungry. You don't take very good care of yourself." He says as he motions toward the table. It's true that what is arranged is merely pastries and the like which are not very nutritional, but they will hold him over until his next meal since it's so late at night.

"Very well." Q allows, deciding that eating won't be a bad thing, so he sits down and picks up one of the pastries, sniffing at it for a few moments before he takes a bite of it, hoping there are no drugs in it.

"Good! See? Bond's influence is already fading a little. I don't blame you for not trusting me, I forgive you, but I promise, it's not drugged." The former agent says with a little smile, going to sit across from him and eating, watching Q like a hawk, to an almost disturbing degree.

Q sighs a little, though comes to the conclusion he might as well use this somewhat to his advantage. "I understand why you might want too keep me in the basement, but it is a bit chilly down there. Would it be possible to get a few blankets, perhaps a pillow? It would help me rest better." There is a tentative tone to his voice that he hates himself for, but he does not look forward to any pain that might come from asking too much. Still, he was very cold down there in the damp basement and he didn't rest very well.

Eyes widening a little, George looks like someone just told him the world was actually flat. "Oh, I'm sorry, Q. I didn't realize it was so cold down there, of course we can do something about that." He leans to the side a little. "Martin, get Q some blankets and a pillow, put them downstairs for him." he orders before he returns his attention to Q, looking supremely proud of himself.

"Thank you." Q says as he looks down at his plate, sighing a little as he eats and holds back his tears. He really does miss Bond quite a bit and he's afraid that he will be here for quite a while before his Alpha finds him. Surely M has informed him and he's back in England by now. Lifting his head, he looks over toward one of the windows wistfully for a few moments.

This does not seem to suit George however, as he slams both hands down on the table, startling the boffin."Stop! I can tell you're thinking about him! Stop it! You're not supposed to think about Bond! After everything I am trying to do to make you happy here. I got your favorite pastries, making you comfortable! Look at me! AT ME!" He shouts, half-rising out of his chair as he leans over the table to stare at Q.

Leaning back in his chair with wide eyes, Q can't help the small tremor that goes through his body as he begins to realize how tenuous his situation here is. He can't do anything, and he has a feeling the former agent will get physically violent without a second thought if he is angered too far. Still, the young man can't think of anything to say, fear taking him over as he stares at the man in front of him with wide eyes, wondering how it got this far. He never encouraged Walters when he would flirt, he never encouraged any of them. It was clear who he had chosen when he was attacked by this Alpha. Was it the rejection, was it something else? He just can't figure it out.

Martin returns a moment later before things can escalate too much, taking in the situation but not interfering. "Martin! Take Q back downstairs. Leave on the cuffs, he needs to learn that disobedience means punishment." Walters says in a near growl, before he stands completely and turns away from Q.

Not needing any more information, Martin grabs Q by the arm and lifts him out of the chair, mostly dragging him down to the basement again. With a good shove, the young man stumbles into the room, looking back in time to see the heavy door closing behind him and listening to it bolt back into place.

The blankets and pillow are there though, and he walks over to them, spreading one out enough to lay down on before he curls up on it with another over him, whimpering slightly. He can't help the tears then as he turns his head into the pillow and cries. He's not sure how long he is letting out his fear and anxiety through tears when they finally start to stop. A strange calm steals over him, and for a moment he almost feels as if a familiar pair of arms is around him. Taking a deep breath, he even thinks he smells Bond's cologne, letting out a small laugh of surprise and disbelief as he sniffles, only to snuggle down deeper into his pillow. "James... where are you.. are you nearby? Is that why I feel like you're with me?" he mumbles to himself, closing his eyes and slowly drifting off to the memory of his double-oh's soft tones.

* * *

**I've been watching Spectre on like a loop for half the day, so needless to say I have Bond on the brain. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well, I was originally going to go in a different direction but changed my mind. I can always loop back to my original idea if I want, but I think this is better for now. Hope you like it!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	24. Chapter 24

As if their boss being missing wasn't motivation enough,when they found out the connection to the former 009, Bond brought the information to R with the hopes she can find something they might have missed. And while she is doing that, he has taken up residence in Q-branch. It bugs him that he can't be out there doing something, and besides taking a short nap in Q's office, there's not much he can do that isn't being done by more skilled people. He's decent at information gathering, but not when there are no leads like this. He has always considered himself to be more of a weapon. Point him at a target and he will take it out. And in this case, he will tear his target to shreds.

"007, I think we might have a lead!" Maybe she is a little overly excited at the way she yells that out, but R is working on very little sleep and way too much caffeine at this moment so she is a little wired. "It's thin to say the least." She continues to no one in particular, jumping a little when it seems the agent appears at her elbow. "There are a few people who he kept in touch with since University, and one or two which his phone records indicate he has been in contact with recently." She rubs one of her eyes, widening them for a moment before squinting at her screen to make sure that she is reading it correctly. "Nothing particularly special about either of them on the surface, but after a little digging, I found out one of them may be the weak point. He is involved in more.. unsavory things. Including but not limited to forced prostitution, kidnapping, and.." She trails off before she clears her throat a little. "Lets just say, supporting online sex sites that include less than willing participants." She can't help but sound disgusted at the idea, trying to keep her calm before she looks up at Bond.

At the first mention of a lead, no matter how small, James fairly leaps across the room to lean over the desk where R is sitting. When he realizes what sort of men Walters might consider friends, his muscles tense and his fingers dig into the side of the desk where he was gripping it. "Address." He says as he reaches out to take one of the ear pieces he sees sitting on the desk, fitting it into his ear before he draws his gun from the holster, checks the cartridge, then replaces it. "I'm going to need some supplies from medical." He says with a brief, tight smile that is completely hollow and a little bit menacing. He has no idea what is going on or what Q might be subjected to at the hands of this psychopath. IN a small part of his mind he wonders how the man even passed the psych evaluation to become a double-oh in the first place, but chooses not to dwell on that for the time being.

With a firm nod toward the agent, R sends a message off to medical before she turns to look back up at Bond. "I hope you give him a taste of his own medicine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go ruin some credit reports and take down some highly illegal sites." She says in a cold tone as she looks at her computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard. Sure, it's not sanctioned and not even remotely legal but at the moment no one is paying much attention, nor would anyone at MI6 with a conscience make a big deal out of it.

~oOo~

Q is fairly convinced that he could not have been asleep for long when he hears the metal lock of the door open again and he sits up, rubbing at his bleary eyes for a moment with his cuffed hands before he adjusts his glasses to squint in the darkness.

Martin steps into the room first as light floods in through the door. He seems to be growing increasingly unhappy every time Q sees him, or so it seems. This time, he is carrying a white bucket which he puts down firmly in a corner, as well as a bottle of water and what appears to be a convenience store sub sandwich, sealed in plastic. Both items are tossed onto the floor near Q, before he returns to the door where George is standing.

Standing just back from the door in fact as if he can't bring himself to step into the basement turned dungeon, Walters smiles sweetly. "I brought you somewhere to relieve yourself, and some proper food. You see, I can take care of you, Q. You'll learn in time that I am the only one who can take care of you properly. I'm afraid the cuffs have to stay on for now, though. That is your punishment. Don't worry, once I think you've learned your lesson, I'll remove them. I know you're a faster learner, but Bond's influence is overriding your intelligence." While his tone starts off light and playful in a twisted sort of way, by the time the deranged man stops speaking, his voice is harsh and full of hate again.

"If you're trying to brainwash me into caring for you at all, Walters, through your sick game of punishment and reward, I feel I should warn you I won't be here long enough for it to work." Q finally musters his voice, tone firm. He fully believes that Bond will come before long and his Alpha will take him away from this God-awful place.

Sighing a little in disappointment, George shakes his head as he looks down at the ground. "Oh, dear. So much faith in your broken system. It seems you aren't learning afterall.. Martin." He looks at the hulking bodyguard with an expression that could best be described as regret.

Martin's expression lightens a little, and with a small sadistic smirk, he steps closer to where Q is sitting and after drawing back a hand the size of a dinner plate, he swiftly backhands the young man, knocking him over sideways.

Pain explodes across the boffin's cheek and he sees stars after the impact. It's been a long time since someone acted so violently towards him and it comes as a bit of a shock. Of everything, he actually wasn't sure if Walters would resort to this kind of violence. Adjusting his glasses a little, Q regains control of himself and sits himself up again, looking over at the former agent. "Surprised you let him hit my face. That's going to bruise. You can beat me, and torture me if you like, but that merely proves you are not a fit Alpha. Every act of aggression toward me ensures my hatred toward you." This bravery seems to be coming out of nowhere, Q thinks as he spits some blood out onto the floor from where his teeth cut his cheek.

"Oh, my dear Q, you think I enjoy you being hurt? I don't. I don't want to do this, but you have to understand I have no other choice. Bond is the one who brainwashed you, he conditioned you so you would love him and turn against me. I'm just trying to break his hold over you. And regrettably, if that requires violence, well.. That's what I pay Martin for and he's very happy to do it." George slowly crouches down during his speech so he is that much closer to Q's level, though he hasn't moved from his position just outside the door. "I know you hate me now, but that's okay. It'll all be okay, and soon enough you'll see I'm right, and you'll come to love me." He says confidently before he stands again and brushes his knees off even though they stayed perfectly clean. "I'll let you think that over. Come, Martin."

Martin smirks a little at Q, and kicks a bit of dirt from the floor in the younger man's direction before he turns and follows his employer out, the rusted deadbolt being thrown with apparent finality.

Sinking back against the wall in relief, Q brings his bound hands up to touch his cheek tenderly, feeling the bruise starting to form and a slight swelling around the eye. Picking up the water, which seems to have been refrigerated, he presses it against his cheek to hopefully keep down some of the swelling, though he has no intentions of drinking it until he can determine whether or not there are puncture marks anywhere in the plastic. He is not about to let himself be drugged, and he is definitely not eating the provided sandwich. Again, he refuses to be drugged, and he knows how disgusting those things really are. He doesn't know how long it's been sine he was kidnapped, it must surely be close to 12 hours by now, if not more. He isn't sure if Bond even knows where to look, much less how long it will take them to find him. The young man has yet to give up hope though. James is his Alpha, and more than that, he knows he is loved. Both those things would make it impossible for the double-oh to give up, of that much Q is sure.

~oOo~

For a double-oh who has been around as long as Bond has, it's rather easy to track his target, and even easier to incapacitate him with some anesthetic from medical. Which gives him time to bring his prey to the basement of an abandoned warehouse, string him up by his arms and chain his feet so there's no possibility of the man kicking out at him. Which would just be annoying. Then, while he waits for his target to wake up, he lays out various instruments that he might be forced to use.

It's rather easy to tell when the man wakes up, since there is a quick rattling of chains as his body jerks when he doesn't recognize his surroundings. Having changed into all black just to give himself that intimidation factor, Bond turns to look at the man. "Ah, good, you're awake." He says in an amiable way, as if he were chatting with a friend rather than someone whose throat he wants to tear out.

"Where am I? Who are you? What do you want?" The man rattles off the usual questions in quick succession as he jerks at the bindings on his hands again before he looks down at his feet, obviously trying to find a way out.

Picking up a manila folder from the table, Bond looks down at it for a few moments, then he looks up at the man in front of him. "Who I am isn't important, neither is where you are. What's important is that if you don't answer my questions truthfully, I will kill you. If you give me the information I need to know, I'll let you live." It's a blatant lie, he has no intention of letting this man back out into the world, but it flows easily without any trace of his deception in his tone.

"W-what kinds of questions?" The man stutters as he looks around quickly, resembling a trapped rabbit in some ways, sweat breaking out across his brow.

James smiles very slightly before he nods. "Good. Right to it, then. Timothy Frye. You're a friend of George Walters, are you not?" He asks as he looks up from the folder to the man, before he puts the folder aside, waiting for a nod from his captive. "Good. I already knew the answer, so it's good you've chosen to cooperate." He crosses his arms over his chest, all humor and levity draining from his face. "Let me put this in perspective for you.. I'm an Alpha, same as Walter, but far stronger. And your friend George? He's kidnapped my Omega. My mate. So you're going to tell me anything you know about where he might be." He says in a flat tone, picking up a knife from the work table. "I'd rather this not get messy." he admits, mostly because it would take too long, and might be unreliable if the has to torture it out of him.

Timothy's eyes widen as he sees the knife, and he starts struggling again, as futile as that might be. "What? I.. I don't know! I haven't talked to George in months! How would I know where he went or if he kidnapped some bloke!" He says in alarm as he stares at the man before him.

With a small little sigh, Bond shakes his head a little. "You just made your first bloody mistake. I never said the person Walters kidnapped was a man." He says as he steps forward with his knife, spinning it in his hand just for the dramatic effect. "Well, now we're going to have to do this the hard way."

~oOo~

"M, I have a lead thanks to Walters' friend, and I need a clean up crew to my location." Bond says some time later as he turns his ear piece back on after washing his hands off in the bathroom of the warehouse, changing his clothes into something more presentable.

"Give us the address, I'll have a team ready too go in case you need backup." M says over the comm, though he does sound a little surprised he isn't going to stop his agent at this point. He knows how good 007 is, and how much MI6 needs him. This would be a good message to send to anyone wanting to mess with Bond, but he has a feeling no one is going to survive to pass on the message.

Heading back to his car with his duffel, Bond checks his gun once again, putting a few extra clips in his pocket before he replies. "I won't need backup. There's less than a dozen men at the location according to the late Mr. Frye. Thugs and hired guns. Not exactly the cream of the crop."

Sounding a little more frustrated at this point, M looks over at R who is standing beside him in Q-branch. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear. Give us the address, Bond, that is an order. I will have backup and medical standing by. You don't know what kind of shape Q will be in, afterall."

Of course that hits Bond in a weak spot, but the very idea that Q might be injured angers him. "Fine. When I get there, if it is the correct address, then I will let you know. Until then, no point in anyone getting excited only to find out it's the wrong address."

"Very well. Bring our Quartermaster home, 007." M says formally, sighing as he can tell the line was cut, glancing over at R for a few moments. "Can we trace him?" He asks as he removes the headset and puts it down on the desk.

R looks at her screen and then types a few things into her laptop. "Assuming he didn't disable the tracker in his car, yes we can, sir." She says, nodding as she looks down at her computer screen, the tension visible across her shoulders.

Putting a hand lightly on the young woman's shoulder, M watches her. "You're doing good work, R. After we get Q back, you and your people have some well deserved time off coming to you." He reassures as he watches her, squeezing his shoulder before he steps back to let her work.

"Thank you, sir. He means a lot to all of us." R says as she glances at her boss. Meaning a lot to Q-branch is not quite accurate though. They have always respected him, but because of the things he has been doing lately, it's more like he is a god among geeks. Q-branch would do anything for – what some people have jokingly begun to call Q – their overlord. Which is proved by the fact that no one has left the office for more than a trip to the toilet since this all began.

"I can see that. Don't worry, R. Bond will bring him home safe." M reassures. And woe be to anyone that gets in the Alpha's way, he adds to himself, looking at the screen with concern as he waits.

* * *

**Okay, so 007 has entered scary territory now. Also, I have never before wanted to kill one of my own characters so much, as I want to kill George. I'm glad you'll all be glad to see him go as well. Hopefully without anything else happening to Q. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**


	25. Chapter 25

It turns out the information Bond got was true, the old pub is at the address he was given, and as he stands in an alley across the street with an infrared camera, he can see the signatures of the other bodies in the house. A few moving around, making patrols, one sitting in one of the rooms, and possibly one in the basement, though his camera is not good enough to tell for sure. Even not having solid proof, the double-oh knows it is his Omega in the basement. Most secure place to keep someone with brains like Q.

Keeping to his word, Bond sends a text off to M, not trusting making a phone call which might give away his position at this point. Doubling back to his car, the agent stashes the camera and adds a knife to his arsenal, wanting to be as quiet as possible until he finds Walters.

When he returns to the pub, it's easy enough for Bond to take out the men patrolling around outside, slipping into the back entrance. He can hear Walters talking to someone in one of the rooms, so he saves that for last, stepping along the shadows stealthily as he listens for who might be next.

The original evaluation of the men who were hired is correct – they are hardly the cream of the crop – and they go down quickly, even if a few of them give Bond a few moments of a scuffle. Only when he is sure the rest of the house is clear does he return to the room where he heard Walters' voice, his anger bubbling just below the surface as he switches his knife to his off-hand and pulls his gun with his other.

A swift kick to the door causes it to crash open, startling the two occupants inside. A single gunshot takes down the bodyguard Martin, leaving Walters sitting at his desk, startled for a moment before his face darkens and he nearly growls at the other Alpha.

"NO! Get out! You can't have him back! He's mine now, MINE!" Walters yells angrily, not seeming the least bit afraid of the gun pointed in his direction, or the knife which, delicately put, has very recently been used. "You ruin everything, Bond! A few more days and I could have shown them, I could have shown everyone what you're really like. Brainwashing Q, forcing him to become your Alpha when he doesn't really love you. I see you for what you really are. You took my Q, you took my job, and now you think to finish the job, but I would rather die then let you have him back!" He rants, his voice gaining an octave in pitch, eyes going wide and wild before his hand whips out as quick as a snake and picks up a tube-like device.

"You're mad, Walters." Bond says the obvious, pointing his gun evenly at the other man's head. "Now where is Q? Is he in the basement?" he asks, glancing over to what the former agent picked up to try and figure out what it could be, but he had been previously focused merely on the man and not his surroundings.

"Mad? What, because I don't buy into your image? You flout the rules of MI6, but you still get away with everything. You flirt with everything and everyone, and you still got Q to fall for you. You've got everyone brainwashed and I.. I am the only one who can see it. But I will expose everything, and you will not get Q." He says in a firm tone. "Go ahead and kill me, Bond. Then the three of us will go up in glorious fame." He cackles a little when he sees that the agent doesn't fully understand. "This entire building is rigged with explosives. Your thermal sensors didn't tell you that, huh? But this.. this little, wonderful thing right here -" He waves around the hand that is clenched tight around the tubular object. "- is a dead man's switch. You kill me, and we all die, including your precious Q. Though he may die of injuries rather than the explosion itself. So difficult to tell with these old buildings sometimes, and I'm not an engineer."

This is quite possibly the only thing which could have made the agent pause in his desire to kill the former agent in front of him. Explosives. The entire building could easily be rigged, it wasn't something he was looking for. And he didn't expect Walters to be smart enough to pull something like this off. He must have had another accomplice or one of his shady friends buy everything for him, otherwise Bond would have known. Not only does he have the three of them to worry about now, he also has to worry about the possible fallout if the building should explode. Many of the buildings in this area, though a little run down on the outside, do have businesses using the office space inside. And less than a block away is a slightly busier shopping district.

It is also possible there might be gas lines running near this pub, and if one of them went up this could easily turn catastrophic. James' mind works overtime as he looks at the man in front of him, glancing at the detonator. Usually under such circumstances he would have Q in his ear, telling him just how much danger he is in, and just how big an explosion like that might be.

Instead, like in the days before the current Q, he makes a snap judgment based on the situation and what he knows of Walters. A quick movement of his gun hand and 007 shoots the detonator – straight through Walters' hand – causing a small pop as the electronics short and the device shreds itself and the former agents' hand in the process. The younger man's screams are cut off abruptly as Bond adjusts his aim again and with a single shot and perfect aim, the man's body crumples lifelessly.

Without a second thought about the life he took, James hurries downstairs to the basement he saw earlier, stepping back and shooting the padlock free before he opens the heavy deadbolt.

~oOo~

Q awakens to the sounds of a scuffle outside one of the basement windows, but it's too dark inside and out for him to see anything of what is going on. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he tries to look around in the dark, hope rising in his chest as he thinks about Bond and hopes the sounds he is starting to hear through the old building are from his rescuer. A small shiver runs through him the cold from London nights and the damp from the cellar having long since penetrated his clothing, leaving him with a chill he just can't shake.

As he starts to pace back and forth to get some warmth into his body, Q listens to what few sounds he can hear from above him, the occasional thud, a creak of a floor board, and finally a gunshot, followed quickly by a second one. Not knowing who is doing the shooting or who is even up there is perhaps more nerve-wracking than merely sitting in silence.

When Q hears another gunshot just outside the door, he can be fairly sure it isn't Martin or Walters, but all he can do is squint into the sudden light when the door is flung open. "James?" He asks when he sees the dark outline of a familiar body, his own relaxing a little automatically in response.

Putting his gun away, Bond hurries over to where his Omega is, looking him over. "Are you hurt?" He asks immediately as he drags Q into the stair well to better look him over for any signs of blood, a small frown coming across his face as he sees where the younger man hit his head during the accident.

"I'm fine.. they just kept me in the basement. James.. I'm so glad to see you, Walters completely lost it, he thought I was being brainwashed or something." Q says as he moves closer to James and leans into him a little, resting his cheek on the older man's shoulder to take in his scent and warmth. "And I'm bloody freezing."

Putting an arm around Q with a small nod of his head, James walks him toward the exit. "I'll take you home." He reassures quietly. Outside, it seems M got the text 007 quickly sent off, because there are two black, unmarked SUV's and a van sitting outside with some men in gear. "The building is clear. Just need cleanup. There are two outside as well." James says to the agents as he leads Q past them and to his car. A single paramedic comes to try and look at the two, but thinks better of it when Bond glares at him over Q's head. Doing a bit of an about-face, he heads back to the van to help the clean up crew.

Q feels mostly exhausted as he leans into Bond's warmth, stumbling for a moment, but the strong arm around him keeps him upright. "I could use a bath and a decent meal.." He mumbles as he looks at the older man for a few moments to see what he thinks about that.

Turning his head to kiss Q's forehead gently, Bond nods a little. "Of course. We'll order something once I get you home, alright?" He asks, his tone gentle but there is a firmness to his tone, a protectiveness that is sort of in overdrive at the moment.

"I'm alright, Bond. I'm fine." Q reassures, then he nods a little. "I do want to go home though." When they finally get to Bond's car, he is happy to slide in, looking around and taking a deep breath of his Alpha's scent that has permeated the car, causing him to relax easily.

James doesn't respond to Q's claims that he's fine, being bale to see that for himself but his instincts are in overdrive, having seen how insane 009 had gone and wondering if it was merely due to his obsession with Q or if that just pushed him over the top. Shaking his head, 007 forces himself to focus as he takes Q home, driving a little faster than he probably should be going, but he doesn't care right at the moment. "I'll talk to M, we'll get people to protect you when I'm not around. This won't happen again, Q." he says in a firm tone.

A small snort comes from the tired boffin, and Q rolls his head against the headrest to regard the man next to him. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Bond. We'll be more careful, but you can't say for sure that this will never happen again." he scolds before he looks forward. "We'll work through this." His tone drops a little as he starts to get sleepier with the motion of the car, finally driving off after a few moments.

"I will keep you safe." Bond promises as he looks over at his sleeping Omega, hands tightening on the wheel for a moment before he allows himself to relax.

* * *

**Finally Walters gets what he deserves! Let that be a lesson to anyone else who wants to kidnap Q. Hah. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


	26. Chapter 26

Given the events of the last day, when Bond asks for a few days off for himself and Q, no one argues with it, least of all M. When something like this happens, even he knows not to get between a mated pair.

After a day of practically smothering Q with his protective instincts, the younger man orders him out to the shops to get things they need just to get him out of the house for an hour or two and to give him some space.

When the agent returns and sees nothing happened, it soothes him a little as they put all the groceries away together, only to spend another evening of cuddling watching the tellie and reassuring one another they are both alright and whole.

On the third morning, Q wakes up first, his head pillows on Bond's chest with his hand resting in front of his face. He takes a deep breath and sighs a little as he thinks over the last week and everything that has happened. Slowly, he sits up, the movement causing James' eyes to jerk open.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." Q says as he stretches his arms above his head, tilting his head one way and the other to stretch it before he fumbles for his glasses and looks back down at Bond.

James shakes his head a little. "It's fine. Looks about time for me to get up anyway." He decides, stretching his arms above his head before folding his hands behind it and looking up at Q with a slightly grim expression. "We can't stay here forever, Q. We'll probably have to go back to work tomorrow." He broaches the subject neither of them wanted to really speak about in the last few days.

Nodding a little, but not looking surprised or even disappointed about it, Q smiles slightly at James. "I know. And about time, too. It isn't fair to leave everything to R. How are you with this, James? You need to make sure this doesn't affect your job in the field." He points out in a firm tone. Neither of them have ever wanted James to quit being an agent, which he obviously loves and is very good at.

Ice blue eyes shift to stare at the ceiling as James thinks about the question seriously for a few moments the tension across his shoulders finally easing until he looks like a satisfied cat. "I think I'll be alright. I want you to keep some sort of weapon on you at all times, though. M already said they would be increasing security for you. With 009 gone, they don't see any other threats, since no one knows who you are." He points out, shifting his eyes back at the brunette, watching goose flesh rise on his pale skin before reaching out to grab his arm and pull him back down against him. "We'll make it work." He reassures as he rubs Q's back.

Making a sound of objection when he is pulled down, Q sighs a little in exasperation before he cuddles up against Bond's side and pulls the covers back over them both a bit. They don't have anything scheduled for the day and it's still early, so he sees nothing wrong with spending a bit of time in bed. "We will. We have to. But we need to make sure that our relationship doesn't interfere with work in any way. Which means when you are on a mission, the only relationship we need to worry about is the one between a Double-oh and his Quatermaster." His tone is firm as he lifts his head to watch Bond's profile.

A small grunt is the only response given for a moment. But knowing Q won't be satisfied with that answer, Bond shifts to be able to look down into his eyes before he nods. "I know. I'm still going to flirt, that's just how I am, and it helps take my mind off the grittier parts of missions sometimes. I do enjoy the banter we have." He admits with a small grin as he looks at the younger man for a few moments, lifting his hand to card it through the brunette curls still all wild from sleep and their lovemaking the night before.

"Yes, I hardly think you could prevent yourself from flirting. It didn't help before we were together, I see no reason that particular part should change." Q reassures before he lowers his head, enjoying the caress through his hair, and adjusting his head a bit so his glasses don't dig into Bond's skin so much.

"There's nothing that we can't get through." Bond reassures, lifting his head to kiss the top of Q's head for a moment before he slowly rolls them both over so they're face to face, bond hovering slightly above the smaller man's body, keeping most of his weight off of him. "I am your Alpha. I'll always keep you safe." he says in a firm tone, not waiting for a response before he lowers himself to kiss Q firmly.

Winding his arms around Bond's body, Q lets his own relax, hearing the truth behind the man's words and feeling his mark pulse in agreement, causing a small shudder to go through him as he responds to the agent's kiss. They will no doubt have trials ahead, but there is nothing they will not be able to get through.

~oOo~

Never having any respect for time off or the schedule of MI6, it's discovered that terrorists have gotten their hands on some military grade chips of some sort. A perfect mission for 007, M decides. Bond is sent out with a mere 24 hours notice for Q to get him geared up. True to his word, Q always keeps something on him, whether it be a small gun or Taser when he leaves the office, or a switchblade he carries when inside.

When Bond arrives at his destination and makes it to the facility where the group is supposedly hiding out, he slips in his ear piece and smiles a little. "Q, do you read me?" He asks in a quiet tone, staying low with a pair of binoculars on a slight hill near the facility.

"Loud and clear, 007. You've made it safely to your destination I take it. Do I need to remind you that you were supposed to check in when your flight landed?" He asks, since it's protocol for all agents and not something that Q just made up to keep track of Bond.

"Was I?" Bond asks innocently as he looks at the building through the binoculars. "I'm outside the facility now." He adds in a more businesslike tone.

Rolling his eyes a little, even if it can't be seen by Bond, Q glances at the computer screens in front of him. "Alright, Bond. Four men in the perimeter. And please, do try and bring back my gun this time." he says in a firm tone as he looks at the thermal imaging from their satellites,

"No promises, Q." Bond says as he moves forward, once again going through his mission with Q in his ear, the two in their element as they work together to bring down yet another criminal organization, recovering the guidance chips they were sent after.

Anyone who ever got the chance to watch them work together never saw a more seamless team, despite the arguments over orders that Bond disobeys, or the flirtatious banter between the two. Nothing truly keeps them from their mission. For an aging agent like Bond, it provides an extra layer of defense he likely never would have needed in his youth but that he is grateful for now. For Q it helps him protect one of his agents.

Never was there a higher success rate of missions than after Q took over, his tech and his hands-on approach making some agents bristle, but they soon see the advantages of having a boffin in their ear. And even though other members of Q-branch guide other agents through their missions, no one is ever on hand for Bond other than Q, as inseparable on missions as they become when Bond returns home. And no matter what, they protect eachother, nurse wounds, comfort where needed, and keep eachother level, until the day comes when Bond has to retire from the field, and he instead turns his talents to training the younger generation of agents. Even after, when someone speaks of 007 with a tone of awe in their voice, everyone knows who they are referencing.

Times change, and even Q will be replaced one day, but his legacy lives on in being the Quartermaster that pulled MI6 into the 21st century and revolutionized the way the double-ohs were handled, setting a new precedence for field work which leads to Q-branch agents being trained as field agents to they can accompany double-ohs if needed.

As for Q and Bond, they keep their word, taking on the world when they have to. Nothing is able to come between them as they protect each other. There are spats like with every couple, but nothing that drives them apart for more than an hour or two. They always come back together, always finding a middle ground. Until Death Do They Part.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! This is the end, and I hope that you all enjoyed reading this story. Apologies if it seems to have ended rather quickly, but I have been trying to figure out how to wrap it up and this seemed appropriate. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, I love seeing what you think! Thank you!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**


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